Triple Threat
by yellowrose900
Summary: A sixteen-year-old girl and her twelve-year-old sister steal several necklaces.  But the gang learns that the girls are just pawns in a dangerous man's game.  WARNING:  Contains the spanking of a minor child.
1. Chapter 1

**The Triple Threat**

**SUMMARY: ** A sixteen-year-old girl and her twelve-year-old sister steal several necklaces. But during the deal to get them back, the gang learns that the girls are just pawns in a dangerous man's game. A game that holds their nine-year-old brother's life in the balance.

**WARNING:** Child abuse, not real graphic.

**WARNING: ** Some bad words, not many.

**SPOILERS:** Has major spoilers for the season two finale, Point Blank.

**NOTE:** In this story, Mozzie was shot but lived. They proved who was behind everything, although he denied being the one who killed Kate. He is now behind bars. They also discovered the secret of the music box. This story starts about three months after Point Blank.

**WARNING:** This story contains the spanking of a minor child. It is the first in a series of stories that contain spanking of children and a teen.

**NOTE:** In this story, and the ones after it in the series, June has full custody of her granddaughter Samantha.

**WARNING:** I plan on making up backgrounds for the characters of White Collar. Some of the stories in this series will be about upsetting and disturbing subjects such as drug abuse and child molestation. But not in this story, only some of the future ones. I will post a clear warning at the beginning of these stories.

**NOTE:** Please let me what you think about this story and if you would like to read the future stories.

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Neal was walking down the sidewalk, heading back to the office. He saw two young girls walking side by side, and had to smile at what they were doing. The older one, he figured was around sixteen, was bumping into people and stealing their wallets. The younger one, Neal figured was around twelve, was quickly removing their watches while the older one was apologizing for bumping into them.

They looked a lot alike, but were dressed very different. The older girl wore her dark brown hair long, just past her butt and pulled into a tight thick braid. She was slender and tall. She was wearing sandals without heals, a pair of light pink shorts, and matching blouse. The teenager was also wearing bracelets, a gold heart shaped necklace, and earrings.

The younger girl was slender and a little short for her age. Her dark brown hair was cut short. She was wearing a pair of dirty sneakers, blue jeans, and a black tee-shirt advertising a rock band. She wore no jewelry.

"Not bad." Neal said to himself as he watched them work, he thought they were very good. He noticed one flaw in their scheme; they were looking directly at their next mark before they struck. "Time for a lesson in the fine art of pick pocketing." Neal said, removing his wallet and quickly writing a note. He removed everything from the wallet, then put the note and a paper flower into the wallet.

Then he watched as they picked another mark. With practiced ease, Neal walked past the man first and removed his wallet, replacing it with his own. Then he smiled when he saw the older girl steal the wallet.

/

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The two girls ducked into an alley to see how much they had, each carried a purse with their stolen loot inside.

The older girl quickly went through the wallets, pocketing the cash and tossing the rest of the stuff into a dumpster. She pulled out an expensive looking leather wallet and opened it, frowning at what she saw. She pulled out a note and a paper flower.

"A little advise for future reference." She said, reading the note. "Do not look at your marks, it is a sure give away. Other then that, you two are very talented. But I should warn you, picking pockets will land you in a lot of trouble. Trust me; I know this for a fact."

"It was that dude dressed like a cartoon." The younger girl said, laughing. "He bumped into that guy right before you did."

"Yeah." The older one said, also laughing. "He's got a pretty good sense of humor." Then she frowned and said, "And our wallet."

"We should find him and even the score."

"No." The teen said. "We can't risk it right now, Chris."

"Yeah." Chris sighed. "You're right, Tiff."

"And by the way, he was not dressed like a cartoon. That was classic rat pack."

"Bull, that was classic cartoon."

"You have no sense of style."

"He looked ridiculous, especially with that stupid looking hat."

"That was a Fedora."

"You are so weird."

"Like you aren't."

/

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A week later Peter called Neal, Jones, and Diana into a conference room. They all entered and sat down; Peter already had a small TV and a VCR sitting on the table.

"Should I go pop some popcorn?" Neal asked with a grin as he sat down. "Hope it's one I haven't seen."

"Oh, I doubt you've seen it before." Peter said, not looking in a good mood. "A jewelry store was robbed this morning before it opened. The thieves were smart enough to gain entry to a secured door that requires a fingerprint to enter, we're not sure how they managed that yet. They were also smart enough to disable every camera and motion censor inside the store, again we don't know how yet. But they weren't smart enough to know about the camera outside of the clothing store across the street. They were caught leaving the jewelry store, now we have to identify them."

He pushed play on the VCR.

They watched as two masked people exited the jewelry store, and were surprised see that one of them was short. It had to be a kid. They walked down the sidewalk, pulling off their masks, but their backs were to the camera. They were dressed all in black and each carried a backpack on their backs. They walked out of range of the camera.

"Keep watching." Peter said. "Pay attention to the little boy with the ball.

They watched as the boy stood beside a young woman who was talking to another woman. The boy was tossing the ball in the air and catching it, then he missed the ball and it rolled into the street. They watched in horror as the little boy ran into the street after the ball, and watched as a car sped towards him.

The woman turned and screamed, and the boy stood and froze starring at the oncoming car. Then someone ran towards the boy, from the other side of the street, and knocked him out of the way just as the car whizzed past. The hero was a teenage girl with long brown hair and was dressed in black. A black backpack was still on her back.

A younger girl, also dressed in black, rushed to the older girl's side as the woman picked up the crying boy and hugged him. Both girls' faces were clearly visible on the screen. The older girl stood up, then both girls took off running out of the range of the camera. Peter pushed the stop button.

"Who are they Neal?" Peter asked. He was watching Neal as the scene played out, he saw recognition on the younger man's expression.

"Who said I knew them?" Neal asked, avoiding lying, but also avoiding answering the question.

"I could see it in you face." Peter said. "Now answer the question."

"I saw them about a week ago on the sidewalk." Neal said. "But I didn't talk to them."

"What are you not telling me?"

Neal sighed, sometimes he hated working with a man who was an expert at reading people.

"They were picking pockets and stealing watches." He said. "They are very good at it."

"You saw them committing a crime." Peter said. "And you did not stop them, or turn them in?"

"Come on Peter, they're just kids."

"And you work for the FBI." Peter said, sternly. "You should have done something."

"I did." Neal defended himself. "I left them a note telling them that picking pockets would land them in trouble."

"What else did the note say?"

Neal sighed again and said. "I gave them advice. They were looking at their marks before they struck."

Peter pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to remain calm.

"I did the right thing." Neal said, his grin returning. "If I would have turned them in, then the older one would not have been able to save that little boy's life."

Jones and Diana turned their heads so Peter could not see their smiles, Peter glared at Neal.

"How much was taken from the jewelry store?" Jones asked, after he was able to stop smiling.

"About a hundred thousand dollars worth of diamond necklaces." Peter said. "Jenny is running face recognition software, trying to identify them. She's also trying to figure out how they got in and how they disabled the security system."

"Why would they risk picking pockets if they were planning a heist worth that much money?" Diana asked.

"No idea." Peter admitted. Then his phone rung. He answered it, thanked the caller, then hung up. "Jenny has something."

The three agents and Neal went down to the forensics lab and found Jenny. Classical music was coming from the speakers on the computer. She turned the music off as they entered.

Jennifer Stratton was thirty-years-old with shoulder length red hair and green eyes. She was a little short and heavy-set. Her nose was slightly crooked, from being badly broken when she was a kid.

"What have you got Jenny?" Peter asked.

"It's not good." She said, sadly. "I've got an id on the kids."

"Isn't that good news?" Neal asked, smiling at her.

Jenny was not the type he normally went for, but he thought she had the most beautiful eyes of anyone he had ever met.

"Tiffany Melina Cutter and Christina Francis Cutter are sisters." Jenny said. "They have a nine-year-old brother named Matthew Patrick Cutter. Their Father was arrested and convicted of killing their Mother eight years ago; he is serving a life sentence in Huntsville prison in Texas.

They kids were sent to live with their Uncle, Travis Hinton. Hinton was a con-artist and thief, and was killed by an FBI agent five months ago. Hinton was caught with a stolen painting and pulled a gun, the agent was faster.

They kids were then sent to three separate group homes, where they stayed for one night. Then all three disappeared and had not been heard of since."

"Until now." Neal said, his smile long gone.

"Until now." Jenny replied.

"Do they have any other relative?" Peter asked.

"No, just their Father."

"Did you find out how they did it?" Peter wanted to know.

"Sure did." She laid a scanning pad on the table. "This is the exact model that the jewelry store uses." She said. "It scans your fingerprint, and only unlocks the door if the prints match. I took a swab of the it and found a sticky residue, it was from a Listerine strip."

"Listerine strip?" Peter asked.

"To get the fingerprint." Neal said, smiling. "Told you they were good."

"How do you get a print with a Listerine strip?" Jones asked.

"And how do you know how?" Diana asked.

Deciding to ignore Diana's question, Neal turned to Jones. "You get one a little moist, then put your thumb on it and place it over the scanner. The strip picks up the thumb print already on the scanner and presses that print instead of yours."

"How many times have you used that trick?" Peter asked.

"No comment." Neal replied.

"The cameras were hacked into." Jenny said, trying to get Neal off the hook from answering the question. "Someone hacked into them and replayed the same loop over and over again, then the loop was removed and the cameras started recording again. The motion sensors were also hacked into and turned off."

"They had to have had help." Diana said. "They are too young to have pulled this off alone."

"Actually." Jenny said. "They might have pulled it off alone, both are certified geniuses. "Their Uncle home schooled them, taught them a lot of stuff. Last year, they took an IQ test and all three Cutter children scored well above their age average. Tiffany scored highest in computers, higher them a lot of the top classed computer experts. Christina scored highest in science. And Matthew scored highest in reading and language arts."

/

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Tiffany and Chris walked into a large three story house, past armed guards and attack dogs. They walked into the study and saw a man sitting at a large desk.

"I trust everything went well." The man said, as the girls empted their backpacks onto the desk. The man started sifting through the necklaces. "Very nice."

"We kept our end of the bargain." Chris said. "Now keep yours, where's Matt?"

"Safe, for now." The man said.

"We want to see him." Tiffany said.

"All in due time. First, I have another job for you."

"We agreed on one job." Chris said, glaring at the man. "Now where is our brother?"

The man nodded his head and a large man walked over and grabbed the young girl's neck, squeezing hard. The pain sent the twelve-year-old to her knees and she gasped in pain.

"Let her go." The sixteen-year-old demanded, grabbing the man's arm and pulling. But he was to strong.

"Release her." The man behind the desk said, and the goon let go.

"Are you okay?" Tiffany asked in concern as she helped her sister stand up.

"Yeah." Chris said, rubbing her sore neck.

"Now." The man behind the desk said. "I want you to steal a very nice painting."

"Okay." Tiffany said. She knew they had to do as he said, until they got their little brother back. "What painting?"

"A Graffton painting titled 'Midnight Dance'."

"That painting isn't worth over a few thousand dollars." Chris said. "Why do you want it?"

"Because I do."

"Where is it?" Tiffany asked.

"In the home of Agent Peter Burke."

"FBI?" Chris asked.

"Yes."

"You want us to break into an FBI agent's house?" Tiffany asked.

"Yes."

The two sisters looked at each other, and then both nodded. They had no choice; they had to do as they were told. They had to get Matt back safely.

"We'll have it here in tomorrow." Tiffany said. "Now may we please see Matt?"

"Take them, but watch them" he said.

The goon that had grabbed Chris's neck, led them up to the attic. The young boy was sitting on a mattress in the corner.

"Tiff! Chris!" He shouted once they entered. He rushed to them and they all three hugged.

"How are you holding up, Mattie?" Tiffany asked.

"Okay." He said, but his voice was shaky. "I'm scared."

"I know, but it'll be okay." Tiffany said. "We'll get you out of here in no time."

"Yeah." Chris said, really hoping they were right. "Pretty soon we'll be out of here and together. You've just got to be brave for a little while longer."

"Okay."

"Let's go." The goon barked.

"We'll be back for you." Tiffany promised.

"Real soon." Chris added.

The two girls reluctantly left the attic and then left the house, hating having to leave their little brother behind.

"Now what?" Chris asked, as they walked away from the house.

"Now we break into an FBI's house." 

"Sounds like fun."

/

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So, what did you think? I would love to know. I will update as soon as I can.


	2. Chapter 2

Early the next morning, the Cutter Sisters were standing across the street from the Burke home.

"I want to know why we're stealing a painting that's only worth about four thousand dollars." Chris said. "All of the other stuff Wexler made us steal was worth way more."

"I have no idea." Tiffany said. "Maybe it's something personal between Wexler and this Agent Burke."

"Yeah, Burke is probably investigating the slimy bastard."

"Language."

"There's Burke." Chris said. The two girls watched as he stood in the doorway and kissed his wife.

"That is disgusting." Chris said.

"I think it's romantic." Her older sister replied.

"You would."

They watched as Peter got into his car and drove away, a few minutes later Elizabeth also left the house.

"Let's get this over with." Tiffany said, as they jogged across the street and went to the side of the house.

"Even if we get away with this." Chris said, as Tiffany started jimmying open a window. "Wexler still won't let Matt go."

"I know." The teen replied. "But we have to play along until we figure out a plan."

"I really wish we had time to disarm the security system." Chris said, as her older sister opened the window.

"We should still have plenty of time before the cops show up." Tiffany said, as they climbed through the window. "If the painting is easy to find."

"It's easy to find." Chris said, pointing to the painting hanging on the living room wall.

They heard a low growl behind them and turned to see a yellow dog standing there.

"Oh look." Chris said. "They have a dog."

The dog let out another low growl.

"Easy boy." Chris said, removing one of her gloves and slowly walking over to the animal. "We're friends."

"Careful, Chris." Tiffany warned.

"He's not a guard dog." Chris said, as she knelt in front of the dog and started petting him. "He's too friendly, he's a pet.'

"Let's go." The teen said, as she grabbed the painting. "The cops will be here very soon."

"Bye boy." Chris said, standing up. Then the two sisters quickly climbed out the window and lowered it back down. They were a block away when they heard the sirens approaching the house.

/

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Peter Burke was sitting in his office when the home security people called him to inform him that his silent alarm was activated at his house. He quickly left the building and headed home, Neal was with him.

"Who would break into a Fed's house?" Neal asked, as Peter drove.

"I can think of a few people." Peter said, giving his partner a sideways glance.

"I'm innocent." Neal defended himself with a small smile. "And I'm sure Alex is also."

Peter parked his car in front of the house and the two men got out and walked inside, Peter showing his badge to the officers standing outside.

"Over here Peter." A familiar voice said. The two men walked over to where Jenny was knelt in front of Satchmo, she was getting a print off of his collar.

"What happened?" Peter asked, scratching the dog's head in greeting.

"Someone jimmied open that window." The forensics scientist said, nodding towards the window. "No prints were found. But not many people can resist petting such an adorable dog, so I'm hoping the intruder left a print. I pulled a few from the collar, I'll match them and see if I was right."

"What was taken?" Neal asked, looking around.

"The Graffton painting." Peter said, confused. "Why would someone break into a….." Peter stopped talking and quickly pulled out his phone. "Neal." He said, as he dialed a very familiar number. "Call Jones and tell him and Diana to get over to El's store and bring her to the office."

Neal nodded and quickly did as he was told, although he had no idea why Peter sounded so worried.

"Hey Honey." El's voice came through the phone.

"Are you at work?" Peter asked.

"Yes."

"Lock the door and stay put, Jones and Diana are on their way."

"O..Ok." She said, Peter head a door being locked. "What's wrong?"

"Not sure yet, probably nothing. But I don't want to take any chances."

"Peter." El's voice sounded slightly irritated. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Someone broke into our house." Peter said. "They stole the Midnight Dance painting."

"Why?"

"Not sure."

"You think it's personal?"

"Maybe."

"But who would know about the painting?"

"I don't know Honey, it may be nothing. It might just be a thief who knows very little about paintings."

"Or it could be someone who wants to hurt you, through any means nessacary." El's voice sounded worried.

"It will be okay, El." Peter assured her.

"Be careful, Peter."

"Always am."

Peter heard the sounds of someone knocking on a door.

"Diana and Jones are here." El said.

"Are you sure it's them?"

"I'm looking directly at them."

"Okay, they are bringing you to the bureau. I'll see you there."

"Okay, I love you Peter."

"I love you too, El."

Peter hung up.

"What's with the painting?" Neal asked.

"I gave that painting to El on our first wedding anniversary." Peter said.

"You have bad taste in paintings." Neal said.

"El loves that painting." Peter glared at the younger man. Then he glared at Satchmo. "Some guard dog you are."

/

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Tiffany and Chris once again went to Wexler's house and into the study, Tiffany laid the painting on the desk.

"Very nicely done." Wexler said.

"Where's Matt?"

"Attic, go and say hi. You two are going to stay here for a while."

"And if we refuse?" Chris asked, glaring at him.

"Then I break Matt's fingers." Wexler replied with a smile. "One by one."

"Then I guess we're staying." Chris said.

"Good choice."

One of Wexler's goons took them to the attic. Once they were inside, the door was locked form the outside.

The young boy was sitting on the mattress in the floor.

"Hey Bud." Chris said, as the two girls also sat down on the mattress.

"We're not getting out of here, are we?" The nine-year-old boy asked.

"Sure we are." Tiffany said. "It'll just take some time."

/

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Peter and Neal walked into Jenny's lab, once again classical music was being played. But the volume was turned down low, Jenny was on the phone.

"I mean it, Luce." She said into the phone, her voice agitated. "If you even think about it, I will call Mom. Yes I know I'm a tattle tale." She looked up and saw Peter and Neal. "I've got to go, see you after work. Bye Luce." She hung up and turned the music off.

"What did Lucy do this time?" Peter asked with a smile.

"She's threatening to dye Amber's hair blue." Jenny said, shaking her head. "I swear, my sister is a teenager at times."

"Why would she dye your three-year-old daughter's hair blue?" Neal asked, once again taken in by the woman's green eyes.

"Because she gets some sick pleasure out of torturing her older and wiser sister." Jenny said. "I found a match on one of the prints on Satchmo's collar."

"Great." Peter said. "Who is it?"

"Christina Francis Cutter."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Why would she break into my house?" Peter asked, confused.

"No idea."

"Thanks, Jenny." Peter said.

"Anytime, Peter."

/

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The next morning, Neal was sitting on his terrace going over paperwork. He was trying to figure out what the Cutter children were up too.

"You're up early." June said, as she joined him. "Interesting case?"

Neal told the older woman everything they knew, which wasn't very much.

"I put word out on the street that Nick Halden was interested in buying the stolen necklaces." Neal said. "So far, no luck."

"This case hitting close to home?" June asked, as she saw a look of pain flicker across the young man's eyes.

"What do you mean?" Neal asked, flashing a smile. The case was indeed hitting close to home, drudging up old memories. Memories that he wanted to forget.

"Don't play games with me." June said, her voice slightly stern. "I know you, I can tell when something is bothering you."

"They are just so young." Neal said. "And we haven't heard anything about Matthew being with them. I can't quit thinking that they are being forced into this."

"What does Peter think?"

"He agrees, especially after the break in."

They heard a knock on Neal's door and the door opening. "Grandma June? Neal?"

"Out here, Honey." June called out. A moment later nine-year-old Samantha walked out, still dressed in her pajamas.

"Good morning, Sammie." Neal smiled.

"Morning Neal." She said, returning the smile. "Morning Grandma June."

"Good morning, Honey." June said, she hugged the young girl.

Then Samantha gave Neal a hug, which he returned.

Neal looked at the young girl, she was the same age as Matthew Cutter. If someone was forcing those kids into this, Neal was going to put a stop to it. Any way possible.

/

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Later that afternoon, Neal was sitting at his desk when his phone rung. He didn't recognize the number.

"Hello." He said into the receiver.

"Mister Halden?" A young girl's voice said.

"I am."

"I understand you are interested in some necklaces that I recently acquired."

"If the price is right."

"Seventy-five thousand, that's a savings of twenty-five thousand. You are not going to find a better deal then that."

"I agree, when do you want to meet?"

"Nine in the morning, a restaurant called Ralph's. It's on Graham Street."

"I will be there. How will I recognize you?"

"Go into the game room. Sit at the back booth on the left, it will be reserved for you. Make sure you have the money."

"I will be there."

The line went dead. Neal sighed, then stood up and went to tell Peter about the call.

/

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The next morning, Neal was inside the surveillance van. Peter and Jones were with him, Diana was inside the restaurant. Other agents were spread out inside and outside.

"I hate this." Neal said. "They are just kids."

"Kids who broke the law." Peter reminded him. "Besides, if we are correct about someone pulling the strings, we need to find out who so we can stop them."

"And if we are wrong and the kids are working alone?"

"Then they get arrested and pay the price." Peter said.

Neal sighed; sometimes working with the straight and narrow Agent Peter Burke was aggravating.

Neal jumped out of the back of the van and jogged across the street to the restaurant. He walked to the back of the building and into the game room. Several people were playing pool and video games. Neal walked to back booth and saw a small reserved sign, he sat down and scanned the crowded room.

He spotted Tiffany and Christina playing a game of pool, the younger girl was very good. Tiffany was alright, but no where as good as her younger sister. Neal watched as they watched him. He knew they were scanning the room to make sure he was alone.

After several minutes, they walked over and sat across from him.

"Damn." Chris said. "It's the cartoon dude with the paper flower."

"I told you." Tiffany said. "That is classic rat pack."

"A woman of impeccable taste." Neal said, flashing a charming smile at the teen. She blushed and quickly looked away.

"You got the cash?" Chris asked.

"Yes. Do you have the necklaces?"

The two sisters looked at each other, and then Tiffany placed her purse on the table and opened the top. Neal peered inside and saw the necklaces.

Neal laid a briefcase on the table. Then he saw the girls looking at the entrance of the room. Neal also looked and saw a large man holding a young boy's arm. The boy short dark brown hair and brown eyes, he knew he had to be Matthew.

"Alright." Tiffany said. "Thank you for the advice, Mr. Halden." Then her and her sister stood up. The teen grabbed the briefcase and they quickly left the room, a few moments later the goon and young boy followed.

/

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"Why didn't he give the signal?" Jones asked. Him and Peter were still in the van.

"I don't know." Peter said.

"Peter." Neal's voice came through his earpiece. "They weren't alone. A large man in a dark gray suite and a young boy were there."

"I see them." Jones said, as he watched the screen. Peter looked and saw the two sisters walking down the sidewalk, the man and boy were a few yards behind them. Then he saw Neal following the man and boy.

"He's armed." Neal's voice said. "We can't risk busting them."

"Keep following them." Peter instructed. "We'll follow you."

/

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"Why were Fisher and Matt there?" Chris asked, as her and Tiffany walked.

"I guess to make sure we didn't double cross Wexler." Tiffany said. "Look, this may be our chance."

"Only one goon." Chris said. "Out in the opening." She smiled and added. "Should be fun."

"What ever happens." Tiffany said, as they stopped walking and turned around. "You get Matt to safety, don't worry about me."

"I am not leaving you."

"This isn't about me, it's about Mattie. You have to get him to safety."

"But…."

"Promise me."

"Okay." Chris sighed. "I promise."

Fisher stopped walking and gave the girls a confused look, wondering what they were up too. Matt smiled and thought that whatever happened would probably be fun.

The two sisters walked right up to the man and stopped in front of him.

"What are you doing?" Fisher hissed, tightening his grip on the boy's arm.

"London?" Chris asked.

"London." Tiffany agreed.

"London?" Asked a confused Fisher.

"London." Matt smiled.

"HELP!" Chris screamed, as loud as she could. Several people turned and stared at them.

"Please someone!" Tiffany shouted. "He's kidnapping our brother!"

"Let go!" Matt screamed, struggling to get away. "Help me!"

Several men rushed over, and Fisher quickly released the boy and took off running.

"Let's go." Tiffany said, as the three kids ran in the other direction.

They ducked into an alley about four blocks away.

"We're safe." Tiffany said.

"That was cool." Matt said.

"Very cool." They jumped and turned towards the entrance of the alley. Two men were standing there.

"Mr. Halden." Tiffany said. "What are you doing here?"

"And who's your friends?" Chris asked, although she already knew the answer. His friend was Agent Peter Burke.

"You broke into my house." Peter said. "I believe you know who I am."

"We don't know what you're talking about." Tiffany said.

"It's over." Neal said. "Come on."

The three kids walked over and stood in front of them.

"France?" Chris asked.

"No." Tiffany said firmly.

"Kansas?"

"Kansas." Tiffany agreed.

"What's Kansas?" Peter asked.

"A state famous for growing corn." Chris said.

"No tricks." Peter said, as him and Neal stepped aside to let them pass.

Once on the sidewalk, Matt grabbed his head, and then sank to the ground.

"Matthew?" Peter asked, as him and Neal quickly leaned over the young boy to check on him. Once they were both bent over, Tiffany and Chris placed a foot on their butts and shoved them hard. Both men flipped over and landed on the ground. Then Matt jumped up and all three kids took off running.

They stopped when two people stepped out in front of them.

"Going somewhere?" Jones asked.

"That was not a nice thing to do." Diana said.

"Maybe not." Chris agreed. "But it was fun."

"No more tricks." Peter growled, as him and Neal walked over to them. "Let's go."

/

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I want to thank everyone for the kind reviews and for the alerts. I will update as soon as I can. Please let me know what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

Peter and Neal were in the front seat of Peter's car, the Cutter children were in the backseat. Peter was driving back to the bureau; he glanced in the review mirror at the kids. Matt was sitting in the middle, and all three were holding hands.

"I have got to know." Neal said, turning sideways so he could look at the three children. "What is France?" Then he looked directly at Chris. "And do not say a country famous for art."

"That's private, Cartoon." Chris said, causing Peter to grin.

"You know." Neal said, smiling. "You really don't have the right to criticize other's clothing."

Chris looked down at her dirty sneakers, blue jeans, and over-sized tee-shirt that read _'Property Of The State Of New York Mental Asylum'_. "At least I don't look like a cartoon."

"Are we going to jail?" Matt asked, in a worried voice.

"Of course not." Tiffany said. "Chris and me will probably end up in Juvenile hall, but you did nothing wrong. You will be placed in a group home until Chris and me can get you out."

"I don't want you to go away."

"Relax, Bud." Chris said. "Juvenile hall can't hold us, we will be out in no time."

"You probably could escape." Neal said.

"Don't encourage them, Neal." Peter said.

Peter pulled into the parking garage at the bureau and they all got out. The two men stood in front of the kids.

"No more tricks." Peter said sternly. "I mean it."

"France." Tiffany said, not happy about it.

"France." Chris smiled.

Both girls kicked hard aiming for the men's groin area, but they saw it coming and both jumped back in time.

"So that's what France is." Neal said.

"One more trick and you both will be in cuffs." Peter growled.

"I would never have guessed you were into that kinky stuff, Agent Burke." Chris said.

/

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Elizabeth was sitting at Neal's desk waiting on Peter to return. She had been filled in on the Cutter siblings and was eager to do anything she could to help them. She saw Peter, Neal, and the kids enter to room.

Peter and Christina looked mad, Neal looked amused, Tiffany looked nervous, and Matt looked scared.

"Hey, Honey." El said, as she stood up and kissed her husband.

"Hey, this is a government building." Chris said. "Not the back room of a massage parlor, knock it off."

"Grow up, Chris." Tiffany said. "I think it's cute."

"What's so cute about two old geezers kissing?"

"Hey." El said. "I am not old."

"Let's go." Peter told the kids. "Conference room."

The three kids followed him and Neal into a conference room, they all sat down. Matt was once again seated between his older sisters.

"Alright." Peter said. "Start at the beginning."

"Fine." Chris said. "I guess you have the right to know everything. In the beginning, there was this huge pool of primordial ooze and a li…"

"Enough, Christina!" Peter barked, causing all three kids to jump. "Do you realize how much trouble you are in right now?"

"You have no proof we did anything wrong." Tiffany said.

"We found your sister's fingerprint on my dog's collar." Peter said. "You tried to sell stolen necklaces to an undercover CI, and you resisted arrest. Among other charges."

"We want a deal." Chris said. "We tell you everything we know and you get us a reduced sentence, maybe just probation."

"Depends." Peter said, thinking that they were finally getting somewhere with the kids. "What do you know?"

"I know a lot of things." Chris said, leaning forward. "I know that one plus one is two, I know that the capital of New York is….."

"That's it." Peter said, angrily as he stood up. "You three have five minutes to decide whether or not you want to cooperate with us. If you do, then we can offer a deal. If not, then you two girls are going to trial for several charges and will most likely land in juvenile hall until your eighteenth birthdays." He looked at Chris, "That's almost six years. Your choice."

He stormed out of the room, but Neal stayed behind.

"Look." He said. "Peter really does want to help, we both do. I know trusting a Fed won't come naturally to you, but Peter can be trusted. I know that Fisher isn't smart enough to have control over you three, which means that there is someone else out there. Someone who is going to be really upset when he learns you are in FBI custody. We can protect you, but you have to let us in on what's going on." Then he too left.

Tiffany looked at her younger sister and said, "He's right, Wexler is going to be mad. And I am not ashamed to admit that he scares me. I'm scared of what he will do to us if he catches us. We really don't have much of a choice."

"Yeah." Matt agreed. "Agent Burke can protect us."

"Fine." Chris sighed, clearly not happy with the idea.

"We tell him everything." Tiffany said.

"Everything?" Chris asked.

"Everything." Tiffany confirmed.

"We'll get sent away."

"We can always escape. Juvenile hall can't be that difficult to break out of."

"Okay." Chris agreed. "We tell everything."

/

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Neal walked out of the conference and saw his partner standing by a window, still looking angry.

"That kid is even more annoying then you are." Peter said, looking out the window.

"She's scared." Neal said. "And being scared pisses her off."

"They are heading down a dangerous path." Peter said.

"I know." Neal said.

"They are just so young, that's what makes this hard. They're just kids." He looked at the younger man. "How old were you when you first stole something of value?"

"I plead the fifth."

"Come on, I'm sure the statue of limitations has ran out by now."

"I was nine." Neal admitted. "Same age as Matt. My Dad took me to this fancy jewelry store and distracted the clerk; I pocketed several of the rings that were on display."

"I was seven." Peter said, earning him a surprised look.

"Seven?"

"Yeah, the neighbor had a new bike that I really liked. My parents said I had to wait till my birthday to get one; that was over three months away. So I borrowed his. My parents were pretty upset, and Dad showed his displeasure to my backside. After that spanking, riding a bike was the last thing I wanted to do."

"Your Dad spanked you for stealing." Neal said, a distant look on his face. "Mine spanked me because I didn't steal enough of the rings."

"He did?" Peter asked.

"It's been five minutes." Neal said, not believing what he had just said. He didn't mean to let it slip; he wanted his past to stay in the past.

"Neal." Peter said.

"We should see if they made up their minds." Neal said, walking back into the room. Peter followed, decided to let it slide for the moment. But he was going to talk to the younger man later about what he said.

Peter realized that he knew very little of Neal's childhood, only that his first arrest was when he was fourteen, and that his parents signed over custody of him to the state when he was fifteen. He knew that Neal had been on his own since he was fifteen, having ran away from the group home he was placed in.

"What's your decision?" Peter asked, as he walked into the room.

"We will tell you everything." Tiffany said. "For a reduced sentence and protection. First off, Matt had nothing to do with any of this."

Peter and Neal sat down.

"Let's start from the beginning." Peter said.

"Five months ago." Tiffany said. "Uncle Travis was killed, and we were sent to different group homes. We ran away so we could be together. We made the mistake of going to Wexler."

"Nathan Wexler?" Peter asked.

"You know him?" Chris asked.

"The FBI has been investigating him for awhile, I've came close to arresting him a few times. But he always manages to slip away clean." 

"That explains that ugly painting he made us steal from your house." Chris said. "Most of the stuff we stole for him had a high price tag, except that."

"It was personal." Peter said. "I gave it to El on our first wedding anniversary."

"Damn you need a lesson in the romance department." Chris said. "What kind of idiot gives a lame painting for an anniversary?"

"Christina." Tiffany snapped. "Will you knock it off?"

"Fine." The younger girl crossed her arms across her chest and sighed. "You may continue."

"Thank you." The teenager rolled her eyes, then turned back to Peter. "Uncle Travis once told us that Wexler was the best at arranging fake id's. So we went to him for a new life. He said he would, if we pulled off a couple of heists for him. We did, but there always seemed to be another one. Finally, we told him no. That's when he locked Matt in the attic and said either we steal for him, or he hurts Matt. We called his bluff, and he nearly broke Matt's jaw. So we did as we where told. When we saw Fisher and Matt at the restaurant then saw them following us. We knew it was our only chance to get Matt away. So we took it."

"Are you willing to testify to that?" Peter asked.

"Are you willing to protect us from Wexler?" Tiffany asked.

"Yes." Peter said. "Weather or not you testify, we will offer you protection."

"Then we will testify."

"Right now, you are under our protective custody." Peter said. "I will talk to the DA about a deal, but I'm not sure if you will do time in juvenile hall or not. That's up to the DA."

"Bullshit." Chris said angrily, as she jumped to her feet and glared at Peter. "I know the drill. We give you want you want, then you throw us to the wolfs. Don't you dare pretend you're on our side."

"Calm down Chris." Tiffany said, standing up and placing a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. But Chris shook it off.

"He's a Fed, Tiff. A Fed." Chris spat out.

"I know, but I think we can trust him." Tiffany said, her voice calming. "Relax."

"I am no going to trust a damn Fed." Chris said, glaring at her sister.

"Enough!" Peter growled, standing up. "Young lady, sit down and keep quite."

"And if I don't?" Chris asked, turning her glare to him.

"Agent Burke." Tiffany started, but Peter raised a hand to stop her.

"I have had enough of your attitude." Peter told Chris. "You can either spend the duration of your protective custody in a safe house, or behind bars. Your choice."

"My choice?"

"Yes."

"Then I chose behind bars." Then the twelve-year-old girl picked up the phone off of the table and threw it at Peter's head, he barely managed to duck in time.

"Christiana." Tiffany scolded, grabbing her arm and spinning around to face her. She looked directly into her eyes, her voice was calm but firm. "Calm down."

"He's a Fed." Chris said, her voice barley above a whisper. "We trust a Fed and one of us will die, I know it."

Peter saw unshed tears in the girl's eyes and his anger started melting some, but not all the way.

"No one will die." Tiffany said. "I need you to go and grab a soda or something, take Matt with you."

"I don't want a soda."

Tiffany smiled slightly. "You are a junk food addict, you always want a soda. And I'm sure Matt wants a soda. Now go on."

The twelve-year-old nodded, then took her brother's hand and they left the office. Peter walked to the door and saw Jones.

"Watch those two." He said. The younger man nodded.

Peter sat back down, as did Tiffany.

"Chris is a good kid." The teen said. "She's sweet most of the time, but she does have a temper. And she's a trouble magnet. But she's a good kid."

"Good kids don't throw phones at people's heads." Peter said.

"A lot of people want to throw much harder objects at your head." Neal said. "You shouldn't hold that against her."

Peter glared at the younger man, and then turned back to the teen.

"What do you know about who Uncle Travis was killed?" She asked.

"Just that Agent Cooper shot him when he went for a gun." Peter said.

"We knew Agent Cooper as Kevin, he was undercover as a fence. Him and Chris hit it off, or at least Chris thought they did. Several times when we went with Uncle Travis, Chris and Kevin would spend a lot of time talking about sports. Uncle Travis wasn't into sports, he was into the finer things in life. As am I. Chris finally had someone to talk to about things she enjoyed.

Then one day we went back home and found police and an ambulance there. We also saw Kevin, who said his real name was Agent Kevin Cooper and that he had just killed Uncle Travis. Chris asked him why, and that slimy bastard just shrugged and said that he was a criminal and that that was what happens to criminals. Then he told us to remember that if we decided to continue following in Uncle Travis's footprints."

"He had no right to say that." Peter said, understanding Chris's anger. Cooper used the girl to get closer to her Uncle, and that was wrong. You don't use kids like that.

"Chris blames herself." Tiffany said. "Uncle Travis wasn't trilled with Kevin's abilities as a fence, but he kept going to him so Chris would have someone to talk to."

/

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Chris paced the small room containing vending machines and tables, she was too jittery to sit down. Matt sat at one of the tables and watched his sister.

"Hello." They turned and saw Elizabeth standing in the doorway. "My name's Elizabeth Burke, you can call me Elizabeth or El."

"How about if we don't call you anything." Chris said.

El walked to the vending machine and started putting change in, she was determined to gain these kids' trust.

"I was impressed when Peter told me about the necklaces, he was impressed also."

"Tiff and Chris are good." Matt informed her.

"Yes they are." El agreed. "How did you know how to do the Listerine strip trick?"

"Episode of Covert Affairs on TV." Chris said.

"Who ever said television wasn't educational?" El asked with a smile.

/

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What do you think? I will post more as soon as I can.


	4. Chapter 4

Peter, Neal, and Tiffany walked into the canteen and saw Elizabeth sitting at one of the tables with Chris and Matt. All three were laughing.

"I threw his clothes away." El said. "I didn't even try to get that smell out of them. Peter stayed in the shower for over an hour, and he still reeked of fish."

All three laughed harder.

"You had to tell them that story, didn't you?" Peter asked his wife, but he glared at Neal.

"Peter, I had no idea that you would be locked in that storage room overnight." Neal said. "I figured the owner of the boat would be back that day. If I would have known, I would never have locked you in there."

"That was the second suit I ruined while chasing you." Peter said.

"How'd you ruin the first?" Matt asked.

"Chased him through a car wash." Peter answered.

"Hey, I ruined my suit that day too. And it was one of my favorites." Neal said.

"I missed something here." Tiffany said. "Why were you chasing him?"

"I was wanted." Neal replied. "Peter caught me and sent me to prison, then got me released as a CI."

"Agent Burke." Chris said. "I am sorry about throwing a phone at your head."

"You threw a phone at his head?" El asked.

"Yes Ma'am." Chris said. "But he ducked in time." She looked at Peter and said. "I still don't trust you, I doubt that will change. But I am willing to behave and do as I'm told."

"Thank you Chris." Peter said. After hearing what had happened with Cooper, Peter wasn't angry anymore at the young girl. "I hope I can change your mind about trusting me. You have my promise that I will not hurt you."

"We'll see."

Peter nodded, it was a start.

"Now what?" Tiffany asked.

"Now I arrange for a safe house and round the clock protection for you three, and set up a meeting with the DA. Hopefully with your statements, we will have enough to get a search warrant and arrest warrant for Wexler."

"You won't find anything." Chris said. "By now, Wexler knows you have us and Fisher. He won't have anything in his house."

"Do you know where we will find something?" Peter wanted to know.

"A warehouse, but we have no idea where it is." Tiffany said. "We've been there before, but we were always blindfolded. It's filled with stolen paintings and statues."

"We'll look into it." Peter said. "Sit tight, I'll be back in a few minutes." Him and Neal left the room.

"Peter can be trusted." El said, looking at Chris. "He is a good man."

"He's a Fed." Chris said. "I can't trust him, even if I wanted too."

/

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An hour later, Peter and Neal walked back into the canteen. El and the three kids were still sitting at a table talking.

"We've got a safe house set up." Peter said.

"Good." El said, standing up. "When do we leave?"

"We?" Peter asked, slightly confused. Was his wife actually wanting to go to a safe house? He thought he was going to have to argue with her to get her to agree. Then he smiled as he realized why she was so eager to go, she wanted to be there for the kids. She wanted to help them cope with everything that was going on. He had been married to her for ten years, yet she still found ways to amaze him.

"Now." Then he turned to Tiffany. "Are all of your clothes at Wexler's?"

"No Sir." Tiffany said. "We always keep a bag packed and put in a place where we can get to it quickly. Locker two c at the bus station on Flint Street."

"I'll have an agent to pick it up and bring it to the safe house." Peter said. Then he looked at his wife. "I'll have Diana to pack you a bag."

Peter, Neal, El, and the three siblings left the bureau and went to the parking garage and over to Peter's car. The three adults climbed into the front seat and the Cutter children got into the back seat.

The drive to the safe house lasted almost an hour. Once inside, Peter called the three kids together.

"Rules." He said. "No going outside, no answering the phone, and no answering the door."

"Come on kids." El said. "Let's go pick out our rooms." El and the kids went upstairs.

/

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Nathan Wexler sat at his desk in his study, a look of pure fury on his face.

"They told everything they knew." The man sitting across from him said. "Burke is currently trying to obtain an arrest and search warrant."

"Those ungrateful brats." Wexler growled "I take them into my home and this is the thanks I get. They are going to pay dearly for betraying me. And Burke is going to pay also."

"What do you want me to do?" The man asked.

"Find out where they are."

"That won't be easy, Burke is keeping the location of the safe house secure."

"I don't care how you do it." Wexler growled. "But I want to know where those backstabbing whelps are."

"Would you like for me to dispose of them after I find them?"

"No, I want that pleasure for myself."

"Of course."

"Make it happen Agent Grant."

"Do not worry." Agent Grant said, standing up. "Burke thinks I'm a team player, he doesn't suspect a thing. I will find the requested information."

"And I will make sure you are well compensated." 

"You always have."

/

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The next day, Peter was sitting in his office. He had gotten a search warrant, but came up empty handed. The DA would not issue an arrest warrant on the testimony of the Cutter kids alone, and Fisher refused to talk. So they were back at square one. Peter heard a knock on his door and looked up.

"Come on in, Paul." Peter said.

Agent Paul Grant walked in.

"How's it going?" Grant asked, sitting down. "Did the DA give you the warrant?"

"No." Peter sighed in frustration.

"How are the kids holding up?"

"Pretty good." Peter smiled. "They are good kids, but Chris has got a temper and a mouth on her."

"She's twelve, right?"

"That's right."

"I've got a twelve-year-old niece, she's also got a mouth on her. If you need an extra man, I'm in. I don't want to see anything happen to three kids."

"Thanks Paul." Peter said. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You sure you've got them in a secured place?"

'Oh yeah, no one is going to find this place. A friend of Neal's arranged it."

"The short weird guy?"

"That's the one."

"Can you trust him?"

"With the good silverware, no." Peter said. "With the safety of three kids, without a doubt."

"I better get back to work." Grant said, standing up. "Remember my offer for help if you need it."

"I will, thanks."

"See you later." Grant left Peter's office, a small smile on his face. All he had to do was find Neal's friend and force him to tell where the safe house was. Then dispose of him, no one would ever suspect a fifteen-year veteran of the FBI had anything to do with it. It was a perfect plan.

/

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Chris was bored. Tiffany was playing a computer game, Matt was reading a book, El and Diana were in the kitchen cooking, and Jones was watching tv.

The twelve-year-old sat on her bed and looked out the window, it was a beautiful fall day. The sun was shining, and there was a north breeze. She really wanted to go outside.

"Why not." She said to herself, standing up smiling. "I'll be back before anyone even knows I'm gone."

Chris opened her window and climbed out onto the roof, then she walked across the roof to the other side, where a rose trellis stood. The twelve-year-old quickly climbed down the trellis and jogged across the street.

Smiling, she decided to do a little exploring. She planned on only being gone for a few minutes, but that was before she saw the skate park. Chris saw a few skateboards sitting on the sidewalk with no one close by. Walking by, she swiped one and kept on walking. She walked over to the biggest ramp and smiled, she loved skateboarding.

/

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"Damnit." Jones said, as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Burke." Peter's voice said through the phone.

"We've got a problem." Jones said, as he walked around the side of the house. "Chris is gone."

"What?"

"The bedroom door was opened, an there were footprints in the dirt by the rose trellis."

"How long?"

"Last time I saw her was ten minutes ago, I'm sorry."

"Not your fault, Jones." Peter said. "Neal and me will be there in about five minutes."

"Diana's inside, I'm searching the area."

/

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"I'm going to kill that kid." Peter growled, after hanging up.

"She's probably bored." Neal said.

"Don't you dare defend her actions." Peter said.

"She could be there." Neal said, nodding towards a skate park. "Plenty of kids to blend into."

Peter parked the car and the two men got out and started looking for her.

"Man that chick can rip." Two teenage boys walked past Peter and Neal, talking.

"Can't be more'n twelve. Dude, she's too young to….."

"Excuse me." Peter said. "Where is this chick that can rip?"

"Over there." One of the teens pointed to a crowd that had gathered around one of the larger ramps.

Peter and Neal walked over and saw that the chick was indeed Chris. And they agreed, she was good. They watched as she skated up and down the ramps, clearing them by several feet before landing for another round.

Peter angrily stalked to the end of the ramp, and Chris stopped skating when she saw him. She was at the bottom of the ramp and looked up at him, several of the spectators groaned. Upset that the show was over.

"Get up here." Peter demanded.

Chris picked up her skateboard, then used the ladder to climb to the top of the ramp. She swallowed the lump in her throat when she saw Peter's face, he looked really mad.

"Let's go." Peter said, through gritted teeth. Then he turned and stalked back to towards the car. Chris sighed, dropped the skateboard, and followed him. Neal walked beside her. Peter pulled out his cell phone and called Jones.

"He's ticked." Chris whispered.

"He has a right to be, what you did was dangerous." Neal whispered back. "I know being cooped up inside isn't fun, but it's for your own protection."

"I was only going to be gone for a few minutes, but then I found the skate park."

They made it to the car and Peter opened the back door and glared at the young girl, she slowly climbed in.

The drive back to the safe house only lasted a couple of minutes. Chris got out and went inside, wanting to put distance between herself and Peter.

"Where the hell have you been?" Tiffany angrily asked, as soon as the twelve-year-old walked inside.

"I just went to the skate park." Chris said, her voice small. Tiff rarely yelled at her, and she never cussed.

"Upstairs." Peter said, once him and Neal entered. "Your room, nose in the corner."

"What?" Chris asked, looking at him in surprise. "You can't make me stand in the corner."

"You are currently in the custody of the FBI, that's me. I am too angry to deal with you right now, I need time to calm down. Now get upstairs and do as I say."

Chris looked into Peter's angry eyes for a moment, then turned and ran upstairs. He really looked mad.

"What was she thinking?" Peter asked, rubbing a hand over his face.

"She was bored." Tiffany said, sadly. "I know that is no excuse, but it's what happened. When Chris gets bored, she doesn't think clearly."

/

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Chris stood angrily in the corner. How dare that Fed put her in a corner? He had no right to, he wasn't her boss. All she did was go to the skate park; there was no crime in that. Who does he think he is?

She knew that she wasn't supposed to leave the house, but that was a dumb rule. Then she sighed. What if someone would have seen her and reported to Wexler? She knew he had his goons out looking for them. She could have led one directly to her brother and sister.

And she figured that they were worried about her when they didn't know where she was, her brother and sister anyway. Maybe El and Neal. But she knew that the three Feds weren't, why would they care if she lived or died? But she did worry Tiff, Matt, El, and Neal.

She heard the door opening and heard someone walk into the room, then she heard someone sat on the bed.

"Come here Christina." Peter's voice said.

Chris turned around and noticed that Peter looked calmer, but he still looked pissed. She slowly walked over to him and stood in front of him.

"Why?" Peter asked, his voice stern.

"I was bored." She admitted. She knew it was a lame excuse, but it was the truth.

"Do you know why what you did was wrong?"

"I didn't at the time, I mean, I knew I was disobeying you and breaking one of the rules. But I didn't think about the other things."

"What other things?"

"If one of Wexler's goons would have saw me, I could have lead them straight to Tiff and Matt. And I know I worried Tiff, Matt, El, and Neal when no one knew where I was."

"You had us all worried." Peter said, his voice turning gentle.

"Why were you worried?" Chris asked, confused. "It can't be about the case, I mean I'm not much help to you there."

"Because I care about you." Peter said truthfully, he was really stating to like the three kids. "I know you and FBI agents haven't really worked out in the past, but I am not Cooper. I am Peter Burke, and I will not hurt you like Cooper did. You can not lump all Feds into one pile based on what one person did to you. FBI agents are like every other group of people. There are good ones and there are bad ones."

"I know what you said makes sense." Chris said. "But it will take time."

"I know." Then his voice became stern again. "Now back to your little excursion. El and Diana have dinner ready, so we are going downstairs to eat. After dinner, you will wash all the dishes, then go straight to bed."

"But it's only seven o'clock." Chris said.

"The next time you want to break the rules, maybe this will help you think twice about it."

Chris nodded, she knew she deserved to be punished. What she did was dangerous.

"Come on, dinner smells wonderful." Peter said.

"Are you mad at me?" Chris asked. She was surprised to find that she was starting to like the Fed. But she was still wary of trusting him.

"No, I'm not mad." Peter said. "You broke the rules, and I gave you a punishment. Your slate is wiped clean."

/

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	5. Chapter 5

Chris stood in front of the kitchen sink and stared at the pile of dirty dishes. Then with a deep sigh, she began the task of washing them. Wondering if Neal's friend had ever heard of a dishwasher.

She heard someone walk into the kitchen behind her and turned to see Neal. He walked over and took a plate that Chris had just washed and began rinsing it. Then he used a towel to dry it.

"I'm not supposed to have help." Chris said.

"I know." Neal replied, rinsing and drying another plate.

"Thanks." Chris smiled.

They worked side by side for a few moments.

"I can't believe I've got to go to bed when we're done." Chris said, sadly. "I mean I know I screwed up, but it's not even dark out."

"I am going to school you in the fine art of stalling." Neal said, as he took the two plates he had just dried and placed them back into the soapy water.

"Good idea." Chris said.

"You do know you probably could have cut out part of your punishment." Neal said.

"How?"

"Use your natural weapon, puppy dog eyes."

"Puppy dog eyes?"

"Sure." Neal turned to her and gave her his best innocent look.

"Not bad, does it work on Peter?"

"No, but yours might. Mine only works on women."

"You are just full of advice."

"Yes. But don't let Peter know, he wasn't too thrilled about my last piece of advice to you."

"Didn't figure he would be." She picked up a plate and asked. "Wonder how long we can stall?"

"You have got fifteen minutes." Peter's voice caused them both to jump and spin around. The agent did not look happy. "Not a minute longer." Then he glared at Neal. "Check all the locks." Then he turned and walked out.

"We've got to put a bell around that guy's neck." Chris said.

"A really big bell." Neal agreed.

Neal gave the young girl a sympathetic smile, and then left her to wash the dishes alone. He made his round around the house, double checking every lock.

/

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Early the next morning, Peter was sitting on a chair in the living room. Neal was asleep on the sofa, snoring softly. Peter looked up when he heard someone enter the room.

"You're up early." Peter said, as Chris walked in and sat in a chair. She was dressed in jeans and a red tee-shirt. Her feet were bare and her hair was damp from her shower.

"What do you expect when you sent me to bed so early." Chris said.

"Any more little trips around the neighborhood and you'll have an even earlier bedtime."

"Don't worry, I'm not leaving this house without permission."

"Good." Peter smiled.

"Got any washable markers?" Chris asked, as she watched Neal sleep. "I think he'll look good with a handlebar mustache, maybe some freckles."

"No, but I think there's a permanent marker in the kitchen."

"Cool." Chris stood up and walked towards the kitchen, but Peter reached out and grabbed her arm as she walked by.

"Don't even think about it." He said, smiling. "He's with me today, and I do not want to be walking around with a clown with a painted face. Wait until one weekend when we don't have to work, that way he'll have all weekend for it to wear off."

"Ok." Chris returned the smile.

/

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Mozzie was walking down a sidewalk, when he noticed he was being followed. Being careful to not let the tail know he knew he was back there, Mozzie walked into a small café and ordered breakfast. As he ate, he watched the man watch him.

Whoever the man was, Mozzie could tell he was a pro. But not as good as him. After breakfast, Mozzie made several stops, and the tail stayed right with him. Mozzie saw a newspaper stand and walked past it, then he waited until the man was also past it. Then Mozzie turned around and walked back to the stand. The man following him stopped walking and pretended that he was hailing a cab.

Mozzie walked past him, lifting the man's wallet from his pocket as he passed. Then he stopped at the newspaper stand and bought a paper, then continued on his way. The man followed him, not knowing that his wallet was gone.

After a few more minutes, Mozzie grew tired of playing follow the leader. He rounded a corner, and then quickly ducked into an alley. The man walked past the alley. Mozzie pulled the man's wallet out and opened it, surprised to find an FBI badge. According to the badge, the man's name was Agent Paul Grant.

Mozzie stepped out of the alley and saw the man ahead of him, so he decided to follow him for a change. Being very careful not to be seen, Mozzie followed him for half an hour. The man stopped at a bus stop and Mozzie walked past him, keeping his head turned so the man wouldn't recognize him, and slipped the wallet back into his pocket. Then he followed him onto the bus.

Mozzie sat several seats behind Grant, and he stayed there for the hour long bus ride. Then he followed Grant off of the bus and down the sidewalk. Mozzie watched as he walked up the drive to a large house and he noticed the armed guards pretending to be gardeners, and the attack dogs pretending to be family pets.

/

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I guess I'll start breakfast." Peter said, as he stood up. "Everyone will be awake pretty soon."

"Want some help?" Chris asked, as she followed him.

"Sure, what can you cook?"

"Any type of toast you want." Chris said, as they entered the kitchen. "My specialty is cinnamon French toast."

"Sounds great. I'll make some bacon and hash browns."

They worked for a few moments, then Peter asked. "What else can you cook?"

"Nothing, toast is it. Tiff is a great cook, she can cook just about anything. But not me."

"I'm not much of a cook either." Peter admitted. "But I do make a wonderful pot roast."

He watched as Chris sat aside the batter and start to mix another batter in a smaller bowl. His eyes grew wide as he watched her add mustard and pickle relish.

"This batch is for Matt." She said.

"What did he ever do to you?" Peter wanted know.

"About six or seven months ago we made a bet on a football game, my team lost. I had to wear a pink dress all day long, out in public. The next morning, I made French toast. I added a couple ingredients to Matt's without telling him. He took a bite of it, then he stopped chewing and started at it. Then he smelled it, shrugged, and wolfed down the whole plate. He actually loved them cooked that way. So now, I add mustard and pickle relish to his."

"That boy is strange."

"No doubt."

/

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Several minutes later, Neal walked into the kitchen. He was still in his pajamas and robe.

"You look rough in the mornings." Chris said, grinning at his hair. Which was sticking out in a few places. "Breakfast is done."

"Smells and looks great." Neal said. "I heard El and Tiffany talking right before I came in here, they'll be right in."

"Follow alone." Peter whispered into Chris's ear, as he placed a piece of French toast into a plate. Chris smiled when she realized what he had planned.

"Here you go Neal." Peter said, handing the plate to the younger man. "Chris cooked them, she's a little worried that they might not be real good."

"Yeah." Chris said, giving Neal an innocent look. "I really hope you like them, I tried my best."

"They smell wonderful." Neal said, picking it up and taking a huge bite out of it. He fought the urge to spit it out, Chris was still looking at him. With a huge effort, he swallowed it without chewing. "Delicious." He said, hoping he sounded convincing. It was horrible.

"You really like it?" Chris asked hopefully.

"I can honestly say I have never tasted anything like it before."

"Finish it up." Peter said, trying not to smile. "We need to be ready to leave as soon as Jones and Diana get here."

Neal really wanted to strangle Peter at that moment, but instead he took another bite. Peter was going to pay for this. He thought, as he swallowed it.

Chris burst out laughing, and so did Peter.

"That was great." Chris said, then laughed harder at Neal's confused look.

"What's so funny?" El asked as her, Tiffany, and Matt walked into the room. Peter and Chris were laughing, and Neal was alternating a glare between them.

"We got Peter to eat a piece of Matt's French toast." Peter said, trying to stop laughing.

"Oh man." Tiffany smiled. "Matt likes mustard and pickle relish in his."

Everyone was laughing, except Neal. He was drinking a glass of water, and still glaring at Peter and Chris.

"That was not nice." He said, then he too smiled.

"Might not have been nice." Chris said. "But it was funny. You should have seen your face. And you only have yourself to blame. You told me to us my puppy dog eyes."

"On Peter, not me."

/

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TBC

I will have more posted soon. Hope you all like it, please let me know what you think.


	6. Chapter 6

Now I know why I don't own any pets, I forgot all about Satch. I want to thank Peppe1951 for reminding me about the poor pooch. I added him to this chapter.

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Peter heard a car outside and looked out the window, it was Jones and Diana. He opened the door and let them in, Satchmo was with them.

"Hey boy." Peter said, scratching the dog's head. "Miss me?"

Satch leaned into his touch and wagged his tail.

"I think that means yes." El said, as she too pet the dog. Then she turned to the two agents. "Thank you for stopping by the house to pick him up."

"No problem." Diana said.

"Cool dog." Matt said, as him and his sisters walked over. "Is he friendly?"

"Sure is." Chris replied, kneeling in front of the dog and petting him. Matt knelt beside her and also petted the dog. "He's not much of a guard dog though."

"Satch is in haven." El smiled. "He loves attention."

"We've got company." Jones said, looking out the window. He opened the door and Mozzie walked in.

"Moz." Neal said, a little surprised to see his friend. It was his house, but it was currently filled with FBI. Mozzie usually didn't go where he knew the FBI was at. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk." Mozzie said, looking at Peter.

"Kids." Peter said. "Why don't you take Satch upstairs."

"Suit." Mozzie said. "They are children, but they are not naive. They know the reason you are sending them upstairs is because you do not want them to know what we say. So why not just tell them that?"

"I like him." Chris said with a smirk.

"You would." Peter said.

"Come on." Tiffany said. "Let's let them talk in private."

The three Cutter kids and Satch went upstairs.

"Did you put a tail on me, Suit?" Mozzie asked as soon as the kids were out of ear shot.

"What?" Asked a confused Peter.

"Did you put a tail on me? It's not a difficult question."

"No, I didn't."

"That's what I thought, you have a mole."

"Who?"

"Paul Grant." Mozzie said.

"No way." Peter shook his head. "Paul is a good man, and a great agent. He's been with the bureau for fifteen years."

"He's in Wexler's back pocket." Mozzie insisted.

"What's your proof?"

"I noticed I had a tail, an experienced one. But no where as good as me. I turned it around and started following him, after picking his pocket. He went to Wexler's and was there for over an hour. Then he left and went back to the bureau."

"You sure about this?" Peter asked.

"Positive."

"Damnit." Peter swore. "Does he know you spotted him?"

"I take offense at that question, Suit."

"That's how Wexler always manages to slip away clean, Paul's been giving him the heads up." Peter said. "I told him that you arranged for this house, that's why he was following you."

"Oh Peter." El said, sadly. "He has a niece Chris's age, how could he do this?"

"Money." The adults turned around and saw Tiffany, Chris, and Matt standing on the stairs. It had been Chris that spoke.

"You're supposed to be upstairs." Peter said.

"We figured you were talking about us." Tiffany said. "Or about the case. We have the right to know what was being said."

"That is why I distrust Feds." Chris said, glaring at Peter. "That was a nice speech you gave about not judging all Feds because of the actions of one. I actually believed it, I actually believed that a Fed could be trusted. Now I know better. You promised to protect us, but you told one of Wexler's goons where we were. How to find us. All he has to do is follow the short guy to us." Then she turned and ran up the stairs, slamming the bedroom door behind her.

"I am not short." Mozzie said. "I am vertically challenged."

"You really blew it this time, Peter." Tiffany said. "Chris was starting to trust you, but you betrayed that trust by telling this Grant guy about us." She took her brother's hand. "Come on, Matt. Let's go check on Chris."

They walked upstairs and into the bedroom.

"They're just upset." El said, wrapping her arms around her husband. "They didn't mean it."

"Yes they did." Peter said, still watching the empty stairs. "And they're right, I told Grant about Mozzie arranging the safe house. I should have only told the agents I truly trust. This whole thing should have been handled by Jones, Diana, Neal and me."

"You couldn't have known that Paul was dirty." El said.

"She's right, Boss." Diana said. "Everyone trusted Grant."

"Let's go Neal." Peter said. Then he turned to Jones and Diana. "Keep a close eye on Chris, make sure she doesn't leave."

"We will." Jones promised him.

Peter and El kissed, then Peter, Neal, and Mozzie left.

"I will go talk to them." El said, walking up the stairs.

/

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"Don't you dare tell me to trust that man." Chris glared at her sister. "He betrayed us."

"He told a fellow agent." Tiffany said, keeping her voice calm. "He didn't know that Grant was dirty."

"Yeah, Chris." Matt said. "He wouldn't have told Grant if he would have known."

"Look!" Chris yelled angrily. "He is a Fed, he can not be trusted!"

"That's bull!" Tiffany shouted back. "And you are smart enough to know it!"

The door opened and El walked in.

"I didn't mean to accuse Peter." Tiffany said.

"I know." El said.

"I did." Chris said.

"Chris is stubborn." Matt said, earning him a glare. But he just smiled at his sister. "Your glares don't scare me, I know you."

"Smart assed kid." Chris mumbled, but the nine-year-old boy just smiled wider.

"Peter would never intentionally put you in harms way." El said, as she stood in front of Chris. "He really is a good man."

"He's a Fed." Chris said. She really wanted to believe that Peter was a good man and that she could trust him, and she had began to do just that. But a part of her screamed at her to distrust any Fed. No matter what.

"I was attacked several years ago, way before Peter and me even met." El said. She hated talking about it, it still scared her. Made her think about her past. Which was something she tried not to do. But she had to get through to Chris. She had to show the young girl that not all Feds were bad, that not all adults are bad. "I was only seventeen. The attacker broke into my home and tried to hurt me real bad, he was a black man. My neighbor at the time, a man named Devon, was also a black man. The two men looked a lot alike. Both were over six feet tall and very muscular, both had very short hair and brown eyes, both had tattoos all up and down their arms. But they were very different people.

Devon heard my screams and he busted through the front door and tackled the attacker, without any thought to his own personal safety. He fought the attacker while I got out of the house and into his to call for the police. He was still fighting the man when the police showed up. Devon was all cut up and bruised, he had a broken arm and sprained ankle. But his first thought after the police had the attacker, who was worse off then Devon, in custody was of me. He wouldn't let the paramedics tend to him until he made sure I was okay. The only injury I received that day was a busted lip, Devon stopped him before he could do anything other then knock me to the floor.

You not trusting Peter because he is a Fed and another Fed hurt you would be like me not trusting all black men, or all men with tattoos. You can not fear one man because of another man's actions."

"It's not the same." Chris said, her voice soft. "And I am not scared of Feds. I just don't like them, there is a difference there."

"You are afraid of getting hurt." El said, looking into the young girl's eyes. "I know the feeling."

"She's right, Chris." Tiffany said, standing next to El. "Cooper was a bastard who used you to get close to Uncle Travis. But he's not a bastard because he's a Fed, he would be a bastard even if he was a rodeo clown."

"I think we should trust Peter." Matt said. "He seems like a nice man."

Chris sighed and looked away. She knew they were right, but she was still scared. El was right, she was terrified of getting hurt.

"Give him a chance." El said. "Let him, Jones, and Diana prove to you that most Feds are trustworthy."

"Okay." Chris said, hoping she wasn't making a mistake.

"Good." El smiled.

/

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Peter, Neal, and Mozzie stood outside the safe house.

"Can't you arrest Wexler on the kid's testimony?" Mozzie asked.

"No." Peter answered. "They have no proof; it would be Wexler's word against theirs. Tiffany would probably do pretty well on the stand; she's smart and not easily flustered. Matt's only nine, and he's shy. A defense lawyer would chew him up." Then he smiled slightly. "And Chris would probably jump from the witness chair and beat the crap out of the defense attorney if he gets her riled enough."

"So what's the plan?" Neal asked.

Peter looked at Mozzie. "Do you want to help?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"It could be dangerous."

Mozzie looked at the house. "There are three kids who are in danger, I want to help."

/

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Peter was sitting in his office later that morning, when Grant stuck his head in.

"Got a minute?" Grant asked.

"Sure, come on in." Peter said, resisting the urge to slam the man into a wall and demand to know why he was throwing everything away. "What can I do for you?"

"Actually, I was hoping to do something for you." Grant said. "How's the case going?"

"Not good." Peter said. "We don't any proof that Wexler is doing anything illegal."

"How are the kids holding up?"

"Not good." Peter sighed. "All three hate me, and every other Federal agent."

"Why?"

"Because of what happened to their uncle."

"Is there anything I could do?"

"Not right now." Peter said. "The kids are under protection, tonight's Neal's turn."

"Alone?"

"Yeah, Wexler has no idea where the kids are. They are safe, Neal's just a babysitter to make sure they don't run. His friend's bringing some supplies tonight to the house. In fact, I'm supposed to meet him at around seven to give him some things for Neal. He's going straight to the house after that."

"He's coming here?" Grant asked with a smile. "I didn't think he liked federal buildings."

"Oh, he doesn't." Peter laughed. "I'm meeting him at a coffee shop a block from here."

"Well, if there is anything at all I can do." Grant said, standing up. "Don't hesitate to let me know."

"I will." Peter assured him. "Thanks."

Grant left the office and headed straight for the men's room, making sure no one was in there. Then he pulled out his phone.

"It's me." He said into the phone. "Everything will be taken care of tonight, I have a strong lead as to where the kids are being kept. All three will be dead in a few hours."

/

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TBC.

Please let me know what you think. I will try to get another chapter out tomorrow or tomorrow night.


	7. Chapter 7

Peter and Neal walked into the safe house and saw everyone sitting around the living room watching tv.

"Anything good on?" Neal asked.

"We're watching Finding Nemo." Matt said. "It's a really good cartoon."

"I haven't seen that one." Neal said. "What's it about?"

"Nemo is a little clown fish who gets caught by a dentist and put in a fish tank. His Dad searches everywhere for him."

"I hope he finds him."

"He does." Matt said.

"He can find him later." Peter said. "I need you kids to gather your stuff."

"Where are we going?" Tiffany asked.

"To another safe house." Peter said. "You will be staying at Neal's."

"Wexler knows where this house is?" Chris asked in concern.

"No." Peter answered. "But he will, Mozzie is going to lead Grant here."

"I'm assuming you want Mozzie to do that." Tiffany said.

"I get it." Chris said. "More then likely, Wexler has told Grant to kill the three of us. So when Grant shows up to do that, you arrest him for attempted murder. Then flip him and take down Wexler. Not bad."

Tiffany, Chris, and Matt went upstairs.

"What about June and Samantha?" El asked.

"They are spending the night in a hotel." Neal said.

/

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That evening, Peter sat in at a booth in the coffee shop. Mozzie walked over and sat down across from him.

"You do know that being seen with a suit is bad for my image." Mozzie said.

"You remember the plan?" Peter asked, ignoring the other man's question. He handed him a file folder. The folder was empty, but they knew Grant didn't know it.

"Of course I do." Mozzie said.

Mozzie took the folder, then stood and left the café. He smiled when he noticed the tail trailing him, it was Grant.

/

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Neal was standing by the door, when someone knocked on it. He opened it to show Mozzie.

"The suit wanted me to give you this." Mozzie said, handing Neal the folder. He knew that Grant was close enough to hear everything they said. "Care to join me for a drink?"

"I'm on guard duty." Neal said.

"Since when did you turn into a babysitter?"

"Yeah, you're right." Neal said, shutting the door and walking outside. "El and the kids are asleep anyway."

Mozzie and Neal walked down the walkway, and down the sidewalk.

/

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Grant couldn't believe his luck, killing the kids was going to be easier then he thought. He pulled his gun from his waistband and checked to make sure the silencer was on correctly. Then he walked into the house and slowly up the stairs.

One of the doors was cracked opened and he crept to it, then slowly opened it. He saw three lumps under the covers.

"Good night kids." He whispered, pulling the trigger three times.

"FBI!" Peter shouted, as him, Jones, and Diana burst from the closet. All three had their guns aimed at the rouge agent.

"Peter." Grant said, shocked.

"It's over, Paul." Peter said. "Drop your weapon."

"It's not what it looks like." Grant said, as he dropped his gun.

"It looks like you sold your soul to the devil." Peter said, sadly. "They are children, and you were going to just end their lives."

"I want a lawyer."

"Get him out of here."

Jones cuffed him, read him his rights, then led him from the room.

/

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Neal, El, and Tiffany were sitting on Neal's sofa, listening to classical music. Chris and Matt were sitting at the dinning room table playing poker.

"I love this music." Tiffany said, closing her eyes and sinking back further into the sofa. "Mozart was a genius."

"Bon Jovi is a genius." Chris said, as she smiled in triumph after winning another hand.

"You have no taste in music." The sixteen-year-old told her sister.

"You're pretty good at that." Neal told Matt as he watched the young boy shuffle the deck of cards.

"Thank you." Matt said, continuing to shuffle. "Uncle Travis taught me."

"Too bad he didn't teach you how to play." Chris said. "I'm three and O. You would owe me around five hundred bucks if El would let play for money." El reluctantly agreed to allow them to play poker, but refused to allow them to play for money. She felt they were way too young to gamble.

"Only cause you're older." Matt said. "You have three years experience on me."

/

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Peter walked into the integration room, Grant was already seated at the table along with his lawyer.

"Why'd you do it, Paul?" Peter asked, as he sat down across from him. "Why'd you throw away everything you had?"

"I have advised my client not to answer any questions at this time." The lawyer said.

"I thought you were smarter then this, Paul." Peter said. "He's Wexler's lawyer, do you really think he's concerned with your best interest?"

"I abhor that statement Agent Burke." The lawyer said. "I…."

"He's planning on you taking the fall." Peter said, cutting off the lawyer's sentence. His voice was hard. "I'm not going to lie to you, I really hate offering you a deal. I think you should rot in prison with the criminals you put there, you hypocritical slime. You went into that house to murder three kids, there is no excuse for that. But I want Wexler, I know those kids won't be safe until he's behind bars. So I'm willing to give you the break that you don't deserve. But your information better be good."

"What kind of deal?" Grant asked.

"Don't listen to him." The lawyer said. "They….."

"Shut up, Miller." Grant said. "I want to deal."

"I will arrange it so you spend your prison sentence out of the general population." Peter said. "You will serve whatever the judge gives you, and I hope it is a very long sentence. But you won't serve it with anyone you locked away."

"Deal." Grant said. He knew that was the best deal Peter would offer. He didn't want to go to prison, but knew it was unavoidable now. At least this way he would be released eventually, and not killed by an angry inmate with a grudge.

"I strongly advise against that." Miller said.

"Wexler has a warehouse on Madison Street, it's full of stolen items. He also has a computer there that catalogs everything. You need to arrest Miller here, he knows everything. He's the middle man, he deals with the fences."

"That is absurd." Miller said, standing up. "Since my advise is clearly not wanted here, I will be on my way."

"Not so fast, Miller." Peter said.

"You have no right to detain me."

The door opened and Diana walked in and handed Peter a file folder.

"Harold Miller." Peter said. "You are being detained for fifteen parking tickets that you have not paid. The clerk's office where those tickets are to be paid is currently closed, so you are under arrest until it opens."

"This is an outrage." Miller bellowed. "I will have your badge."

"Get him out of here, Diana."

"Of course." She said, cuffing the lawyer and reading him his rights.

"I will testify against Wexler." Grant said.

"And I will testify against you." Peter said, as he left the room.

/

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Peter walked into Neal's room and smiled at the sight. El and Tiffany were sitting on the sofa, talking and laughing, Neal and Chris were standing in front of a large canvas sitting on an easel playing tic tack toe and the canvas, and Matt was sitting in the floor playing with Satch. It was a wonderful sight, it seemed so natural. So right.

"Hi, Honey." El said, standing up and walking over to her husband. They kissed and hugged each other.

"That is so gross." Matt said, scrunching up his nose.

The door opened again and Jones, Diana, Hughes, and two other agents walked in.

"Kids." Peter said. "This is Agent Ben Tisdale and Agent Jose Gomez, they are going to stay with you for a little while."

"No offence." Tiffany said, looking at the two new agents. Then she turned to Peter. "Are you sure you can trust them?"

"Yes." Peter said.

"Like you trusted Grant?" Chris asked.

"They can be trusted." Peter assured them.

"Okay." Tiffany said. Matt nodded, then went back to playing with the dog. Chris wasn't convinced, but she was willing to give them a chance. But she was going to make sure to stay alert.

"How'd it go with Grant?" Neal asked.

"We'll fill you in on the way." Peter said, giving his wife another quick kiss.

"Be careful." El told him. "All of you."

Peter, Neal, Jones, Diana, and Hughes left the room.

"I like tic tack toe." Agent Gomez said, nodding towards the canvas. "Mind if I finish the game for Caffrey?"

"The games over." Chris said, placing a final x on the game. "I won."

"Care for another game?" The agent asked.

"Sure."

/

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TBC I will post another on as soon as I can. Hope you liked it, let me know.


	8. Chapter 8

The FBI surrounded the warehouse where Grant said all of the stolen items were, there were several armed men inside, along with several crates.

"Move in." Peter gave the command.

The agents burst through the doors, aiming their guns.

"FBI!" Peter shouted. "Hands up! Guns down!"

The men were caught off guard and had no choice but to do as they where told, however one man managed to slip away without being seen.

"Wexler isn't here." Neal said, as the agents cuffed the men and read them their rights.

"Get forensics in here." Peter told Jones.

/

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Wexler sat in a car a few blocks away from the warehouse, cell phone clutched tightly in his hand. The man who had managed to slip away was on the other end of the phone.

"I want them all dead." Wexler spat out angrily. "Starting with those kids, this is all their fault."

"I believe I know where they are." The voice on the phone said. "The old lady that Caffrey rents from has checked into a hotel, so they are probably using that house as a safe house."

"I want them dead."

"I will send two of my best men right now, they will not fail."

"They had better not." Wexler said.

"I will have a sharp shooter outside just in case they manage to slip past my men." The man said. "Consider the job complete."

"I will consider it complete when they are dead."

/

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Tiffany sat in the floor in front of the sofa, and El was sitting on the sofa. She was braiding the teen's long hair. Chris was flipping through one of Neal's art books. Matt was sitting in the floor playing with Satch. The two agents were downstairs checking the doors and windows again.

"Hey, El." Chris said, looking at her with a confused expression. "What are you doing with those scissors?"

"Very funny." Tiffany said.

"I wouldn't dream of cutting your sister's beautiful hair." El said, as she braided.

"Thank you." The sixteen-year-old said. "I've tried to talk Chris into letting her hair grow out, but she won't."

"Hair that long is too much of a hassle." Chris said. "And I'd hate trying to figure out how to play football with hair down to my butt."

"Sometimes I think I have two brothers." The teen said.

"That's okay." Chris replied. "Sometimes I think I have two sisters."

"Hey!" Matt protested.

The door burst opened and Agent Gomez rushed in, shutting and locking the door behind him.

"Everyone stay down." He said.

El jumped up and ushered the kids into Neal's bedroom, making sure they were hid behind a dresser before she returned to the main room.

"Where's Agent Tisdale?"

"He's been shot." Gomez said, pulling out his phone. "I'm not sure how bad. There are two heavily armed men."

He called for backup, then hung the phone up. He stood a few feet from the door and aimed his gun at it.

"Stay back." He told El, when he heard running footsteps on the stairs outside the door. El moved back and stood beside the large bookcase. Gomez stood to the side of the door, his gun aimed at the door. Satch stood beside El, growling lowly at the door.

"Little piggy, little piggy." A male voice filtered though the door. "Open up."

"This is FBI Agent Gomez!" The agent said in an authoritative voice. "I have phoned for backup and the place will be surrounded in a matter of moments. You have no other alternative but to surrender."

"I do have one other alternative." The voice said. They heard a soft thud, then a hole appeared in the door. Splinters of chipped wood exploded from the door. A second later, it happened again.

"Open the door and you won't get hurt." The voice said. "We only want the kids."

"That's not going to happen." Gomez said.

"FBI!" Another voice boomed. "Guns down!"

"That's Peter." El sighed in relief.

"It's Agent Burke." Peter's voice filtered through the door. "It's safe, open up."

Gomez opened the door and Peter rushed in, right into the arms of his wife. Gomez ran from the room to check on his partner.

"You okay?' Peter asked her.

"Yes."

"Where are the kids?"

"Right here." Tiffany said, as her and her siblings entered the room.

"It's going to be okay." Peter said.

"You get Wexler?" Chris asked.

"Not yet, but we will." Peter assured them. "From now on, you will stay at the bureau."

"Great." Chris mumbled. "Surrounded by feds, how fun."

"She sounds like Mozzie." Peter said.

"Yeah, but she's prettier." Neal said, as he entered the room.

"Agent Tisdale is okay." Jones said, as him and Diana entered the room. "The bullet went straight through his leg. He'll be laid up for a little while though."

"Wexler won't stop until we're dead." Matt said, clutching Tiffany's hand.

"I won't let that happen." Peter assured him, kneeling in front of the boy to look into his eyes. "I promise you, I will protect you."

/

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Peter, Neal, Jones, and Diana walked out of June's house forming a box around El, Tiffany, Chris, and Matt. They were almost to Peter's car, when they heard the loud report of a rifle. A second later, Matt felt a burning pain shoot through his left shoulder.

"Shooter!" Peter exclaimed, as him and the other agents drew their guns. El, Neal, and Jones each grabbed a kid and threw them to the ground, covering their bodies with their own. Peter and Diana tried to find out where the shot came from, scanning the area closely.

"There." Diana said, nodding to a man standing several yards away. He was aiming a rifle at them.

"Stay down!" Peter shouted, as him and Diana started firing at the shooter. The man turned and ran, Peter and Diana chased after him.

Neal, who was laying on top of Matt, raised up slightly and saw the blood flowing out of the young boy's shoulder. Matt was crying softly.

"It's okay, Buddy." Neal said, quickly pulling his suit jacket off and wadding it up. He placed it on the wound and pressed down, causing Matt to scream out in pain.

"Mattie!" Tiffany tried to get up, but Jones was holding her down.

"Neal's got him." Jones said. "Stay down." He pulled out his phone and called for an ambulance.

"Is he okay?" Chris asked, from underneath El.

"He'll be fine." Neal said, as he examined the young boy for other injuries.

"It hurts." Matt cried.

"I know, Buddy." Neal said. "Help's on the way."

"He's gone." Peter said, as him and Diana ran back over.

Jones and El stood up, then helped Tiffany and Chris to their feet. Tiffany rushed to her brother's side.

"I thought you were going to protect him." Chris said, glaring at Peter. Her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Chris, don't." Tiffany said, as she wiped her eyes. "You know it isn't Peter's fault."

Chris took a deep breath and released it with a hitch in her voice. "I'm sorry, Peter."

"It's okay, Honey." Peter said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

They heard the wail of an ambulance's siren getting closer.

/

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Tiffany and Chris were sitting in a private waiting room at the hospital, awaiting news about their brother. They were alone in the room.

"We can't let Wexler get away with this." Chris said.

"I know." Tiffany agreed.

"Peter means well, but he has no proof that Wexler did anything wrong."

"We will get proof." The teen said.

"How do we ditch the feds?"

"I'm working that out now. We can't leave until we know how bad Matt is."

"He'll be safe with Peter, won't he? While where gone."

"Yeah, Peter knows how bad Wexler wants us dead. He'll make sure Matt is well guarded."

"I actually feel kinda bad about going behind Peter's back." Chris said. "But we don't have to worry about doing things by the book, we can get Wexler easier then Peter can."

The door opened and Neal walked in, his white dress shirt was covered in Matt's blood.

"Matt's going to be okay." He said. "The bullet was removed without any problems, and the doctor expects him to recover quickly." 

"Can we see him?" Tiffany asked, relief evident in her voice.

"The doctor said you could for a moment, but he needs his rest."

/

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Hope you liked it, I will have more posted soon.


	9. Chapter 9

I want to thank everyone for the kind reviews and for the alerts. I am glad you like this story.

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Tiffany and Chris walked into Matt's hospital room, El was standing by the bed holding the young boy's hand.

"Hey Mattie." Tiffany said, as they walked over to the bed.

"You look like crap." Chris said. His face was pale and he had iv's hooked up to him.

"I got shot, what's your excuse?"

"He's okay." Chris smiled.

"I'll leave you three alone." El said, gently smoothing Matt's hair. Her hand lingered for a moment on his cheek, and she smiled down at him. "You need to get some rest." Then she walked out of the room.

"How are you feeling?" Tiffany asked, as she used the back of her hand to check his forehead for fever.

"Ok, just a little sore."

"You do know you're supposed to duck when people start shooting at you, don't you?" Chris asked.

"I forgot."

The doctor stuck his head into the room.

"You girls need to leave, Matt needs all of the rest he can get. You can visit him in the morning."

"We'll see you later, Matt." Tiffany said, gently kissing his forehead. "You do as the doctor says."

"I will."

"Later, brat." Chris said, gently tousling his hair. "And no flirting with the nurses."

"Ewww." The nine-year-old wrinkled his nose at the thought of flirting with a woman.

"Remember that in a few years." Tiffany said with a smile. "Girls are nothing but trouble." Then she looked at Chris and added. "And so are boys."

"You'll take good care of him?" Chris asked the doctor.

"Of course I will." He said. "Your brother will be just fine."

Tiffany and Chris walked into the hallway, they saw that two armed men were already stationed at the young boy's door.

"Come on, girls." Peter said. "We're going to the bureau now."

"We should stay here." Tiffany said. "I don't want Matt to be alone."

"Yeah." Chris agreed. "We can get a couple cots put in there and….."

"Matt's still in ICU." El said. "The doctors won't let anyone stay with him."

"He will be okay." Peter assured them.

"We'll be back in the morning, right?" Chris asked.

"No." Peter said.

"The doctor said we could come back in the morning." Tiffany said.

"The doctor is not responsible for your protection." Peter said. "You are not leaving the bureau until Wexler is caught."

"We are not leaving our little brother here alone." Tiffany said, her eyes flashing with anger.

"He's not alone." Neal said. "We will take turns keeping him company, but you two can't keep going back and forth. Not after the attempted hit today, it's too dangerous."

"But….." Chris started, but her older sister paced a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"They're right." Tiffany said. "Thank about it, Chris. If we're out in the open, Wexler's men can find us."

"Okay." Chris sighed.

"Let's go." Peter said.

/

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Ah hour later, the two sisters were sitting in Peter's office alone.

"Might as well go after Wexler now." Tiffany said. "Since we can't see Matt until he gets out of ICU."

"What's the plan?"

"We find evidence against Wexler, that's all." The older girl said, looking into the twelve-year-old's eyes. "We don't do anything else, got it?"

"Got it." Chris said. "I want Wexler to go down; I won't do anything to jeopardize that."

"First we need to find Wexler."

"How? Peter said after the raid on the warehouse, he's vanished. Must've knew they'd find something on him."

"We need to know what the FBI knows, we may be able to figure out his next move."

"How do we accomplish that?"

"When we walked by Agent Hughes' office, I saw a couch. I think I'm feeling a little light headed, maybe a rest would help."

"I'm a better liar then you, I should do it."

"Do you know how to hack into government files?"

"Like I said, you should do it. I'll swipe a set of keys from one of the agents. That way we can get out of this place when we need to." Then she smiled. "Better idea, I'll swipe them from the janitor. That way we can slip out through the service entrance, less changes of being spotted."

"Give me an hour."

"Got'cha."

"And swipe a gun while you're at it." Tiffany said, not happy about the idea. "I want protection if we're after Wexler."

"Keys and two guns, not a problem."

"One gun, you are not carrying one."

"But…" 

"I said no." The sixteen-year-old said with a determined voice.

"Fine, one gun." Chris sighed.

/

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Hughes was sitting at his desk, when he heard a soft knock. He looked up and saw Tiffany standing there, she looked sick. Hughes motioned her in and she walked in, slumping down in a chair in front of his desk.

"Are you okay?" Hughes asked in concern.

"Fine, Sir." She said. "Just a little sick, I was wondering if there was somewhere I could lay down for a bit."

"Of course, do you think you need to been seen by a doctor?"

"No Sir, I know what's wrong. It…." Then she looked down at the floor. "It happens sometimes."

"Oh." Hughes said, smiling slightly. "No need to be embarrassed. I have a wife, two daughters, a daughter-in-law, and four teenage granddaughters. Why don't you lay down on my couch, I'll draw the blinds so the light and noise outside the office won't bother you."

"Thank you." She said, feeling guilty about lying to the man, he seemed really nice. "I don't want to drive you out of your own office."

"Don't worry about it." Hughes said, as he stood and started closing the blinds, darkening the room. "Get some rest."

"Thank you."

Hughes turned out the lights, then left the office. Closing the door behind him. The teen immediately went to the computer and started typing.

She was really feeling guilty, but kept telling herself that she had to do it. They had to prove Wexler was behind Matt getting shot, they couldn't let him slip away.

/

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Chris walked by the janitor, who was wiping down a table in the café, and slipped the keys from the man's waist. She put the keys into the pocket of her blue jeans and walked out of the café.

She walked through the squad room, scanning the area. She smiled when she saw an agent placing his gun into a desk drawer and locked the drawer. Then he walked away. There was no one near the desk.

Chris quickly picked the lock, then slipped the gun into the waist band of her jeans. She made sure her tee-shirt covered the gun, which it did. She didn't notice that Diana was following her, or that she had seen her take the keys and the gun.

/

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Peter and Neal walked down a long hallway heading towards the forensics lab, Peter giving his partner a sideways glance. The younger man had practically jumped up and ran towards the elevator when Peter mentioned going to the lab. He knew it was because of Jenny, Neal was falling for her.

That surprised Peter, Jenny was not the usual type Neal went for. She was pretty, but not jaw dropping. She was about fifty pounds heavier then the other women he dated. And her nose was crooked.

But Neal was definitely falling for her, and hard. Peter smiled, Jenny would be good for Neal. She would help keep him grounded. She would help keep him on the straight and narrow.

They walked into the lab and saw Jenny sitting at one of the many computers in the room, she stood up when they walked in.

"Please tell me that the boy is okay." She said, worry evident in her voice. "Please."

"He's fine." Neal assured her. "Matt's still in the hospital and will be for a couple of days. But he's okay."

"Thank God." Jenny said.

"Did you find anything?" Peter asked.

"If you find Wexler." Jenny said. "He's going to prison, no doubt. I found his prints all over the warehouse and most of the paintings and statues." She handed Peter a list with five names on it. "I found their prints in the warehouse, but you didn't arrest them. One name is Oscar Williams, he is a known hit man. Wanted in fifteen states for murder, weapon charges, drug charges, and other crimes."

"He's probably the one who shot Matt." Peter said. "What about the other four?"

"Small time thugs." Jenny said. "I also listed possible places they could be found."

"What about the hit man?" Peter asked.

"Williams is an Italian food fanatic, one of the very few facts known about him. I requested the surveillance tapes from every Italian restaurant within a ten mile radius of the ware house and a ten mile radius of Wexler's house. There are forty-three. I am currently running a face recognition program using a picture of Williams that another FBI agency sent me."

"You are amazing." Neal smiled.

"I know." Jenny said, also smiling.

Neal once again couldn't help but notice how her green eyes sparkled.

Jenny's cell phone, which was laying on a table, started vibrating. A classic Mozart tune came from it.

"Excuse me." She said, picking it up and looking at the caller id. "I've got to take this, it's my babysitter."

"Rachael?" Jenny said into the phone. "Is he okay?" She ran a hand over her face and sighed deeply. "How long?" Another sigh. "No, it's not your fault. Please send him to his room until I get home. After I speak with him."

She waited a moment, then spoke again. This time her voice was stern. "Young man, what do you have to say for yourself? Why did you wonder off from Rachael? You know better then to go off on your own. Your sister is three, and you know she doesn't count here. You are supposed to stay with an adult."

Jenny took a deep breath and the two men saw her lips moving, she was silently counting to ten.

"We will discuss this when I get home Andrew, now for the other matter. Why did you try to sell your sister?"

Peter and Neal looked at her, then at each other, then back at Jenny.

"I asked a question." Jenny said. "Why did you try to sell your sister for fifty cents?" Jenny sank down in a chair and a strangled noise came from her throat. She was trying not to laugh. "You are to stay in your room until I get home, young man." She said, her voice still stern. Then her voice softened. "I love you, Andy. I'll be home soon."

She hung up, then hung her head and shook it.

"Okay." Neal said. "I'm curious, why did he try to sell his sister for fifty cents?"

"Because he didn't think anyone would pay a whole dollar for her." Jenny said, causing both men to laugh. "They were in Central Park and Andy noticed that a few people were standing around trying to sell watches and stuff. So he grabbed Amber's hand and led her away when Rachael was buying them ice cream. He told her to stand on a park bench, then started auctioning her off. Opening bid was fifty cents."

"Any takers?" Peter asked with a serious face.

"Go catch the bad guys and get out of my lab." Jenny ordered, but she was smiling.

Peter left, but Neal stayed behind.

"Those two must keep you on your toes." Neal said, as he picked up a framed photo. It was of Jenny's kids. Amber had shoulder length red hair and green eyes like her Mom, but she also had a splash of freckles on both checks and across her nose. Andrew had short red hair and green eyes, his freckles weren't as dark or as numerous as his little sister's. The six-year-old was wearing glasses.

"You have no idea." Jenny said. Then she smiled a warm and genuine smile. "But I wouldn't change either one of them. They are my life."

"Did you ever try to sell your sister?" Neal wanted to know.

"No, but I did try to lose her at a carnival before. I was around seven and she was four."

"Did it work?"

"No, I couldn't actually leave her. Even though she was annoying, still is."

/

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Chris saw Diana walking towards her and knew she had been caught. She glanced upstairs and saw that Hughes' blinds were still drawn, Tiffany wasn't finished.

"Give me the gun." Diana said, calmly.

Chris sighed and reached for the gun, then handed it to her.

"Why the hell did you have a gun?" Peter's voice boomed. Chris turned and saw Peter and El walking towards her. Neither looked happy.

"I was just playing FBI." Chris lied.

"The truth." Peter said. "Now."

"They were going after Wexler." Hughes said, angrily. "I just received a call from security, someone hacked into our files and read everything we had on Wexler. The hacker was traced to my office, which is where Tiffany is. She claimed to have been feeling bad, so I told her to lay down on the couch in my office."

"Upstairs." Peter growled, nodding towards the stairs.

"I think I would rather stay down here where there are more witnesses." Chris said, looking at El for help.

"You heard him." El said, sternly. "Upstairs."

Chris sighed and walked upstairs. Peter walked in front of her and went straight to Hughes' office, yanking the door open. Tiffany was laying on the couch.

"Follow me, Tiffany." Peter said. "And do not even think about lying. It's over."

Tiffany looked up and saw Peter's angry face, and then she saw Chris' dejected face. She knew their plan had been found out. The teenager stood up and followed Peter towards a conference room and then into the room.

"Corners, now." Peter ordered.

"I am not a child." Tiffany objected.

"Then stop behaving like one." Peter said, glaring at her.

Tiffany and Chris both went to separate corners and stuck their noses into them.

"Don't even think about moving." Peter said, then he turned and left the room.

The two girl's remained in the corners, wondering what Peter was going to do. He was really mad.

/

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TBC I will post more soon.


	10. Chapter 10

Peter was pacing in the squad room, still mad. Hughes, Jones, Diana, El, and Neal were watching him.

"What were they thinking?" Peter asked.

"That Wexler put a hit on them and that their little brother was hurt." Neal said, causing Peter to stop pacing and glare at him.

"Don't you dare defend what they were about to do."

"I'm not." Neal sighed. "But I do understand why they were about to do it. Let me talk to them before you go in."

"Why?"

"Because I think they need to hear what I have to say."

"And what is it that you have to say?" Peter asked.

"Trust me." Neal said.

"I swear Neal, if you go in there and condone what they were about to…"

"I'm not." The younger man said.

Peter nodded and Neal walked up the stairs.

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Tiffany and Chris still had their noses in the corner, both were thinking about what they had planned on doing. And both were beginning to realize that what they were planning was not a good idea.

"Oh man." Tiffany sighed. "Corner time really does work, doesn't it?"

"Yep." Her sister replied.

"I'm sorry, Chris."

"What for?"

"I'm the older one, I shouldn't have ever…"

"Not your fault Tiff." Chris cut her off. "We were both involved, we both screwed up."

The door opened and they stopped talking. They heard someone walk into the room, then heard the sounds of chairs moving.

"Come here, girls." They were surprised to hear Neal's voice instead of Peter's. Both girls turned and walked over to him. Neal had moved a chair away from the table and was sitting in it. He had two other chairs facing his, the girls sat in those.

"Where's Peter?" Tiffany asked.

"Downstairs, he'll be up in a moment to kill you."

"Thanks a lot." Chris mumbled.

"Look girls." Neal said, trying to find the right words. He hadn't talked about this is a little while, although he thought about it a lot. "Before Peter arrested me, I had a wonderful girlfriend named Kate. She was very special. After I went to prison, she visited a lot. Than about five months before my release date, after spending almost four years in that place, she visits one last time. Kate told me that it was over between us, that she was moving on. I knew something was wrong, I knew someone was making her say that. So I escaped.

It took about a month and a half, but I escaped the super max. And I went after her, but didn't find her. Peter found me, took me back to prison. Then I came up with the idea of me being released as a CI, and Peter got me out. Peter told me not to look for Kate, that he would find her.

But I looked anyway. I broke several laws trying to find her, had a good friend of mine beak several more. Then I found out that an FBI agent had her, for the briefest of moments I thought it might be Peter. But it wasn't."

Neal stopped talking for a moment, as the memories flooded back. "Kate was killed in front of me, the plane she was on blew up. I had broken some laws in order to get that close, so I went back to prison. And Peter got in trouble as well, since I was his responsibility. But he once again got me out and reinstated as a CI. He told me not to look for Kate's killer, that he would find him. But I looked anyway.

I found who I thought killed her, and held a gun to his head. I wanted so badly to pull the trigger, but Peter was there and talked me into giving the gun to him. Good thing he did, turned out that the guy I thought did it didn't do it. I almost killed an innocent man. Then another innocent man was killed because of me, all he did was try to help me figure out a puzzle. And then Mozzie was shot, stayed in a coma for almost a week."

Neal stopped talking again, his eyes were watering slightly. "I should have listened to Peter from the beginning, I know that now. Kate's killer is still out there. The man who shot Mozzie claims that he didn't kill her. And the man who hired him claims he didn't either. I don't know if they did or not. But I do know that Peter is looking for the killer, and I'm helping him the legal way. I may still do some things that are on the wrong side of the law, but I'm doing this by the book now. So maybe no one else will get killed."

No one spoke a few moments, then Neal broke the silence. "Were you planning on confronting Wexler?"

"No Sir." Tiffany said. "Only try to prove he had Matt shoot and that he's involved in the stuff you found at the warehouse."

"That's already been proved." Neal said.

"What?" Chris asked, looking at him.

"His prints were all over the warehouse, there is a warrant out for his arrest. And tying him to the shooting of Matt shouldn't be too difficult considering all of the other charges we can prove."

"So we were putting ourselves in unnecessary danger for nothing." Tiffany said. "No wonder Peter's mad."

"Not only Peter." Neal said.

"We were only tying to help put Wexler away." Chris said, her voice small.

"I know." Neal said. "Just like I was only trying to find Kate, then find her killer. I know why you were about to do it, I understand why. But that doesn't make it right. You stole a gun, so you knew there was a chance that you would have to face Wexler or his men."

"Do you trust Peter to find Kate's killer?' Chris asked.

"Yes." Neal replied without hesitation.

/

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Neal walked back down the stairs and over to Peter and El.

"Did you help them escape out the window?" El asked, trying to lighten the mood a little. She could tell that her husband was still mad. She couldn't blame him though, she was still upset herself. She really cared for the three kids and didn't want to see them hurt.

"Thought about it." Neal said, flashing a smile. "But Tiffany was a little nervous about scaling down fifteen stories to the ground."

"My turn." Peter said, starting to walk past Neal. But the younger man reached out and grabbed his arm.

"They weren't planning on confronting Wexler." He said. "Just dig up enough evidence to put him away. The gun was just for insurance.'

"Doesn't make it right." Peter said.

"I know, in fact, that's what I told them."

/

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Tiffany and Chris were once again standing in the corners, they couldn't believe it when Neal had told them to return to the corners until Peter came up.

They heard the door opening.

"Come here." Peter said, as he sat down in the chair Neal had vacated. Tiffany and Chris walked over and took their seats.

"What you two were about to do was completely unacceptable." Peter said, his voice stern. "It was dangerous and illegal."

"We know." Tiffany said, feeling really bad about disappointing the man. "We're sorry."

"Yeah." Chris agreed, also saddened to have disappointed Peter. "We know it was stupid."

"We will find Wexler." Peter assured them. "We will prove what he has done wrong. But we will do it the legal way." His voice became gentler. "I know you were trying to help, and I understand why. But I can't let this go unpunished. There are a couple store rooms that really need cleaned, that should keep you busy and out of trouble."

"Cleaning?" Chris asked, sighing.

"Cleaning." Peter confirmed.

/

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Peter and Neal walked into Jenny's lab and saw her standing in front of a large plasma screen.

"You have something?" Peter asked.

"Sure do." Jenny said, nodding towards the screen. It was surveillance footage from a restaurant. Jenny pointed a remote at the screen and they watched as Oscar Williams walked into the restaurant and was immediately seated, the waitress seemed to know him.

"He's a regular there." Jenny said. "I received two weeks worth of video footage from Rosario's Restaurant, and Williams has eaten there a total of nine times over the past fourteen days."

"A professional hit man doesn't usually become a creature of habit." Neal said. "Nice catch, Jenny."

"Let's go stake out Rosario's." Peter said.

/

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The next day, Peter and Neal were sitting in Peter's car across the street from the restaurant. Neal kept glancing at the older man, trying to decide if he should say what he was thinking.

"What?" Peter finally asked.

"Just thinking." Neal replied.

"That's usually a bad thing." Peter grumbled.

"Why don't you and El have any kids?" Neal blurted out, causing Peter to stare at him for a moment.

Then the older man looked straight ahead, his hands gripping the steering wheel in front of him.

"Sorry." Neal apologized. "None of my business."

"We've tried." Peter said, quietly. "But it never happened. We've both been to the doctors, both have had numerous tests done. There is no medical reason why we haven't had kids, we just haven't."

"Maybe there's a reason." Neal said. "Maybe it was because there were three kids who needed parents….."

"We're not adopting them." Peter said quickly, even though the thought had crossed his mind a few times. "They need parents who know how to raise kids, I haven't got a clue."

"They need parents who love them." Neal said. "Who will teach them right from wrong, and be there for them. Parents who….."

"There he is." Peter said, as he watched Williams enter the restaurant. He knew Neal was right, he knew it felt right when he was with the kids. But the thought of being a Father scared the hell out of him.

"I hope he's a fast eater." Neal said, deciding to let the subject drop for the time being. "I don't want to… 

"Take a look." Peter said, cutting the younger man off. Neal looked and saw Wexler also enter the restaurant.

"We get both of them." Neal smiled. "And the Cutter children can get their lives back."

"Yeah." Peter sighed. He was going to miss them.

Peter and Neal got out of the car and jogged across the street. They walked in and saw Williams and Wexler sitting at a back booth. They also saw Jones and Diana sitting at a booth a few feet from them.

"Table for two?" A waiter asked, walking over.

"FBI." Peter said quietly, showing his badge. "This place have a fire alarm?"

"Yes."

"Pull it."

"I'll have to get an ok from the manager, he's not here right now."

"Look." Peter said, glaring at the young man. "This is an emergency, and I gave you a direct order. Now pull the alarm now or I will charge you with obstruction of justice, and anything else I can think of. Got it?"

"Y..yes Sir." He said, running off.

"You really need better people skills." Neal said, as him and Peter walked towards the table the two men were sitting at. Peter caught Jones' and Diana's eyes and motioned for them to advance from behind the men..

Peter and Neal were almost to the table, when the fire alarm started blaring.

"No one panic." The young waiter said, as he started ushering people out the front door. "Please quickly and orderly leave the building."

As everyone started leaving, Wexler and Williams spotted Peter and Neal. Both men started to pull guns, but Jones and Diana both pointed their own guns at them.

"Don't try it." Jones said.

Wexler and Williams raised their hands into the air, and stood up.

"It's over." Peter said, as Jones and Diana cuffed them.

/

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El and Tiffany were sitting at Peter's desk, flipping through a fashion magazine and talking about the clothes. Chris was with an agent taking another tour of the building.

"I love this dress." Tiffany said, pointing to a light blue dress. "It is so gorgeous."

"It is nice." El agreed. El had noticed that the kids only had four sets of clothes apiece, and little else. The teen had a small makeup case, Chris and Matt had a couple of hand held games. But that was it.

"I've got an idea." She smiled. "Once this is over, how about I take you three on a shopping spree? See if we can find this dress."

"Really?" Tiffany smiled, then the smile vanished. "Thank you, but no."

"Why not?"

"I appreciate it, I really do. And I would love more clothes, but I have to be realistic. Once this is over, we'll be shipped to who knows where. More then likely we'll have to run again, and we can't do that loaded down with clothes. That's why we only have what we have."

"You don't have to run."

"We can't be separated."

The door opened and the younger sister came in, ending El's and Tiffany's conversation.

"Have fun?" Tiffany asked.

"Sure did, this place is cool."

El smiled a little sadly as she watched the girls talk, she felt so sorry for them. But she also felt blessed to know them, she really cared for them. They were wonderful kids, all three of them. She dreamed many times of having children, but it never happened. Maybe there was a reason for that. Maybe the Cutter siblings were that reason.

Chris was a lot like Peter, stubborn and confident. Tiffany was like herself, strong and graceful. And Matt was like Neal, with his brilliant smile and quite nature. Those three kids would fit in great with them, she knew they would.

/

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TBC Please let me know what you think, I will have more posted soon. I think there will be only one more chapter, maybe two, to this story. I have several more stories involving the expanded Burke family planned. I would love to post them if anyone would be interested in reading them. The next chapter I post will have the spanking of a minor child, if that bothers you, please don't read it. A lot of the future stories in this series will also contain the spanking of minors and a teenager.

Let me know if you'd like for me to continue with this series.


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry for the delay in posting. I know I told some of the reviewers that I would post sooner. But some things came up. Hope this chapter is worth the wait.

WARNING: This chapter contains the spanking of a minor.

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Chris was bored, very bored. The young girl was currently sitting at Neal's desk, trying to figure out how the man folded the origami. She had found a flower on his desk and had unfolded it and tried folding it back the same way, but hers looked nothing like Neal's had.

She tossed the paper back onto the desk and looked up to Peter's office, El and Tiffany were still up there talking fashion. Something that the twelve-year-old girl cared nothing about.

As she sat there, moping, a thought came to her. As long as Wexler was out there, she would be stuck inside. So why not help catch Wexler? She knew Peter would be mad, but figured that a little corner time and cleaning would be worth it if she could go outside and actually have fun once her punishment was over. But she knew the fact that Peter and El would be disappointed in her actions was harder to accept.

Chris grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, then wrote a note and left it on Neal's desk. Then, after checking to make sure no one was watching her, she slipped out of the room. Her plan was simple. Wonder around in a public area until Wexler or one of his goons spotted her, then wait on Peter. She didn't think Wexler would try anything in public, her plan was fail proof.

/

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A few minutes later, El and Tiffany were wondering where Chris went. They soon had several agents also looking for the missing girl.

"Damnit." Tiffany mumbled, spotting the note on Neal's desk.

El stood behind the teen and read the note.

"I know how to get Wexler." El said, reading the note. She didn't hear Peter and Neal as they walked up behind her. "I'm going to draw him out to a public place, then stall him and call Peter. I will make sure to stay in a crowded area, I will be safe. P.S. Since I'm live bait, please have Peter bring me some Scooby snacks when he comes. Chris."

"What are Scooby snacks?" Neal asked, causing El to jump slightly.

"Peter." El said, her voice panicky. "You've got to find her, before Wexler does."

"She's safe." Peter assured his wife. "Until I get my hands on her, that is. Wexler and Williams are both in custody."

"Thank God." El sighed in relief.

"Where would she go to lure Wexler out?" Peter asked Tiffany, a scowl on his face. The teen could tell he was really mad at her sister.

"Chris thinks that Wexler is still looking for us, so she probably figures he'll check out our usual haunting spots."

"Okay, where are the usual spots?"

"I'm not telling you right now." Tiffany said, then took a step back when Peter glared at her.

"Excuse me?" He asked, trough gritted teeth.

"I know what Chris did was stupid and dangerous." The teen said. "And I know she deserves whatever you do to her; I know you would never hurt her. But you are mad right now, you need to calm down. Chris reacts to hostility with hostility, which will only make you both madder."

Peter sighed, she was right. "Okay." Peter said, "I'm calming down, and I will be calmer when we find her."

"My best guess would be the entrance to the zoo, we hang there a lot to pick pockets."

"Good place." Neal said. "Most people are too busy herding their kids to pay a lot of attention to their wallets."

This time Peter's glare was directed at Neal.

"What are Scooby snacks?" Neal asked again, ignoring the older man's glare.

"Haven't you watched Scooby Doo?" Tiffany asked.

"The cartoon with the big dog, him and some kids chase ghosts or something?" Neal asked.

"Yeah, only usually the ghosts aren't real." The teen explained.

"You can explain it to him later." Peter said. "Come on Neal."

"Remember, Honey." El said, as she kissed her husband. "She's just a kid, a kid who is extremely bored being cooped up in here."

"Chris doesn't do bored very good." Tiffany said.

"It's getting late." Peter told El. "Why don't you go ahead and take Tiffany to our house, her and Chris can stay there tonight."

"Okay."

"Can we go see Matt?" Tiffany wanted to know.

"Sure we can." El smiled.

/

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Chris was standing near the entrance of the zoo, realizing that her plan was not working. She was feeling guilty about her plan. She knew Peter and the other agents were doing everything they could to find Wexler, yet she still decided to go out and try to find him on her own.

"No use dwelling on it now." She mumbled to herself.

Not wanting to attract attention from just standing around, the young girl started wondering around the entrance. There was a small building that housed several fish tanks of various sizes, so she went inside and started looking around.

A few minutes later, while she was looking at a large tank full of clown fish, she saw Peter and Neal walk by the building. She ducked behind the large aquarium and hoped that they didn't see her.

"Come out Christina." Peter's stern voice boomed. The young girl stood up and walked from behind the fish tank. Peter and Neal both looked angry, Peter more so then Neal.

"What do you think you are doing here?" Peter asked, his voice hard.

"Looking for Nemo." She said, flashing a smile and nodding towards the clown fish filled tank. "Found him."

"I don't see anything amusing about this." Peter said. "Let's go."

Then he walked off. Chris swallowed hard, then followed him. The ride to the Burke house was made in complete silence. By the time Peter pulled to a stop in front of the house, it was getting dark.

"Why are we here?" Chris asked, as Neal opened her door.

"You and Tiff are staying here tonight." Neal said, giving her a sympathetic smile. He wasn't sure what Peter had planned, but knew that it would not be present for the young girl.

"What about Wexler?" She asked, as she got out of the car.

"He's behind bars." Peter said, gruffly.

"He is?" Chris smiled.

"Yes." Peter said, his voice a little more gentle. "It's over, he can't hurt you anymore."

"Can I go see Matt then?" She asked hopefully.

"In the morning." Peter said. "El and Tiffany are stopping by there on their way here." Then his voice grew stern again. "We have some things to discuss."

The smile vanished from her face, as she slowly started to follow Peter into the house.

"I think I'm going home." Neal said. "I'll see you two in the morning."

Chris stopped walking and turned to him with pleading eyes. "Please don't go." She whispered.

"Relax." Neal smiled. "He won't kill you, too much paper work is involved in that."

"Inside Christina." Peter's voice boomed.

Chris swallowed hard and then turned and walked inside. Peter sat on the coffee table in front of the sofa, and motioned for the young girl to sit on the sofa.

"Explain." Peter said, as soon as she sat down.

Chris looked down at her hands and whispered. "I was just trying to help."

"Eyes up." Peter said. His voice was calm, but firm. "And I want the truth."

Chris looked up into his eyes and saw that the anger that had once been there was gone.

"I was bored." She admitted. "I knew I'd be cooped up in that building until Wexler was caught." Saying it out loud made her notice how childish and stupid the idea really was.

"Do I even have to tell you how dangerous that was?" Peter asked.

"No Sir." She said.

"I told you to let me handle finding Wexler."

"I know."

"I am not about to sit back and watch you make choices that can cost you your life." Peter reached out and gently took her hands into his much bigger ones. "I really care about you, Chris. You, Tiffany, and Matt are wonderful kids. You deserve so much better then living a life of cons and picking pockets."

"You really believe that?" Chris asked, as her eyes watered slightly.

"Yes I do." Peter assured her. "You can do anything you set your mind to, you have the talent and intelligence to succeed in just about everything. But you have got to start thinking before you act, you've got to realize that all of your actions have consequences."

Peter was quite for a moment, then he said. "You know I have to punish you for this, right?"

"Yes Sir."

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes." She said, without hesitation. "I trust you with my life, and with my heart."

Peter nodded, then said. "What you did can not be repeated. Since Wexler was already in custody, you were not actually in any real danger. But you didn't know that, you thought Wexler was still out there. You risked your life, and I will not allow you to think that that is acceptable. You have earned yourself a spanking."

Chris's eyes went wide, and she nervously bit her lower lip.

"Let's get this over with." Peter said, standing up. He sat on the sofa beside the young girl and gently took her upper arm, then guided her over his lap.

A small voice in Chris's head was screaming at her, telling her that Peter had no right spanking her. That she should get up and run. But a much louder voice was calmly telling her that she deserved this spanking. That what she did was wrong and that she had to pay for her behavior. That voice was also telling her that she was lucky to have met Peter, someone who was willing to try to teach her right from wrong. Someone who truly wanted to help her.

Peter wrapped an arm around the young girl's waist and raised his hand to begin the spanking. Then he sighed and lowered his hand, wondering if he was doing the right thing. Chris was not his daughter, did he have the right to discipline here as if she were?

But thoughts of what could have happened to her if they hadn't found Wexler and if Wexler had found her before they did rushed trough his mind. She could have been killed, he could not let that slide. He cared too much for her to do that. Peter raised his hand again and brought it down hard onto her jean clad butt, causing the young girl to jump slightly.

The first swat was followed by a flurry of additional swats, causing Chris to start to squirm. Peter had a hard hand. After a few moments, Peter stopped the spanking. But his arm remained around her waist.

Chris's butt felt as if it was on fire, her breath came out hitched. And her eyes started watering.

"Why are you getting spanked?" Peter asked, employing a method he learned from his Dad. The elder Burke always made sure his children knew why they were being spanked.

When Chris didn't answer, Peter landed three hard slaps to the center of her butt.

"Owww!" Chris cried out, as a few tears leaked from her eyes and ran down her cheeks.

"I asked a question."

"Because I snuck out of the bureau." Chris said, as she softly cried. "Because I put myself in danger." Then she started crying harder as she realized something. "Because you love me enough not to let me get away with pulling crap like this."

Peter paused his hand in midair. Chris was right, he did love the three kids.

"We're almost done, Chris." Peter said, landing another sharp slap to her butt.

"Ohh!" The young girl cried out.

"You never put yourself in unnecessary danger." The sentence was followed by four swats, two to each cheek.

"I…I won't." The young girl cried, as she cried harder. Her butt was throbbing and she knew sitting wouldn't come easy for a little while.

"And you never sneak off on your own like that when someone is out to hurt you." Another four hard swats.

"N…never again." She cried.

Peter brought the spanking to an end with four swats to her tender sit spots.

"OWWWW!"

Peter gently rubbed a hand up and down her slender back as she cried out her pain.

"It's over, Honey." He said.

Peter gently lifted the crying girl and sat her on his lap, being careful not to let her scorched butt make contact with the rough material of his pants. He wrapped his arms around her, and she returned the hug.

"And you are right." He said, softly. "I do love you very much."

"I love you too." She said, as she buried her face into his chest and cried.

Peter held her for several minutes, as she cried. And then after she stopped crying. After a while her breathing even out and Peter realized that she had fallen asleep. He carefully stood up and carried the sleeping girl upstairs and into a guest bedroom. He gently laid her on the bed, on her stomach, and pulled off her shoes and socks. Peter covered her up, then stood there and watched her sleep.

"Sleep tight, Sweetheart." Peter said softly. He heard the front door open and knew his wife and Tiffany were home.

He went back down stairs and was greeted by Satch, who nuzzled against his leg for attention.

"Hey, boy." Peter said, scratching behind his ears. "Happy to be home?"

"I don't know about him." El said. "But I am."

"Where's Chris?" Tiffany asked.

"Upstairs asleep. How's Matt?"

"He is the center of attention." El smiled. "He has all of the nurses wrapped around his finger, they are all gushing over him. But he thinks it's too mushy, except for when Stacy and Rene gush over him."

"I'm guessing those are the prettiest nurses." Peter said with a chuckle.

"No." El replied. "Those are the nurses who bring him comic books and ice cream."

"Smart boy." Peter said. "You always go with the women bearing comic books and ice cream."

"He can get out in the morning." Tiffany said with a smile. "The doctor said there won't be any permanent damage to his shoulder or anything. His arm will be in a sling for a couple weeks, and he'll be a little sore for a while. But he'll recover quickly."

"That's great." Peter said.

Tiffany let out a wide yawn.

"Why don't you go on an head to bed." El said.

"Sounds good." The teenager said. "Night Peter, night El."

"Goodnight Honey." El said.

"Night, Tiff." Peter said.

"So." El said, after Tiffany had gone upstairs. "How did it go with Chris?"

"Alright." Peter said, as they walked into the living room and sat side by side on the sofa. "I spanked her."

"I figured you would."

"El." Peter said, trying to find the words. "When I was spanking her, I asked her why she was being spanked. She listed the things she did wrong, but then she said something that really got me thinking."

"What's that?"

"She said I was spanking her because I loved her enough not to let her get away with pulling crap like that."

"She's right."

"I know."

"I love them too."

Peter turned sideways so him and El were looking into each other's eyes.

"It will be a huge responsibility." Peter said.

"We can handle it." El replied. "I know it won't be easy at times, I know there will be days when we want to pull our hair out. But I also know that those three kids belong with us, they belong in our family."

"How about we tell them in the morning, when Matt's here." Peter said, a huge smile on his face.

"Okay." El was also smiling widely.

"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" Peter asked.

"Yes, but you can tell me again."

/

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TBC. I have one more chapter of this story to post. I will post it as soon as I can.


	12. Chapter 12

Neal walked into Matt's hospital room and saw that the young boy was dressed and sitting on the bed, dangling his feet over the side of the bed. An IV was still in his arm, and the young boy was watching intently as the liquid dripped slowly from the bag.

"Come on." Matt pleaded, his voice nearly a whine. "Hurry up."

"In a hurry to get out of here?" Neal asked with a smile.

"A big hurry."

"Nurse Nancy said it would be another half an hour." Neal informed him.

"Aw man." Now his voice was a full fledged whine.

"Don't worry, kiddo." Neal pulled a chair over to the bedside and sat down, pulling a deck of cards from his jacket pocket. "How about a few games of cards?"

"Okay." Matt smiled.

"I'll teach you how to beat Chris."

"Cool."

They played for a few moments, then Matt asked. "What's going to happen to my sister and me? Are we going to be separated?"

Neal looked up into the young boy's sad eyes. "I don't know, kiddo." He admitted. "Peter just called me a few minutes ago and asked me to pick you up and bring you to his house. Well actually, it was more of an order then a request."

"Are Tiffany and Chris gonna get in trouble for stealing stuff?"

"No." Neal assured him. "Peter talked to the DA last night, woke him up and talked till he was blue in the face. I think the DA agreed not to press charges just to get Peter to shut up and let him get back to sleep."

"Good."

/

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An hour later, Neal and Matt walked through the Burke's front door and were met by Satch.

"Hey boy." Neal petted the dog.

"Hey Satch." Matt scratched the dog's ear.

"How are you feeling, Matt?' El asked, as her and Peter walked into the room.

"Girls." Peter hollered up the stairs. "Matt's here."

"I feel great." The young boy smiled at El.

"Still look like crap." Chris said, as she and Tiffany entered the room.

"Hey, Matt." Tiffany ruffled his hair gently. "Bet you're glad to get out of that hospital."

"Sure am." He agreed. "It was so boring, even though most of the agents that were guarding the room took time to play games with me. They were all real nice."

"I heard all the nurses were all gushing over you." Chris smirked.

"That was the bad part." Matt wrinkled up his nose. Then he too smirked, looking at Chris. "Neal taught me how to play poker better, bet I could beat you now."

"You taught a nine-year-old how to gamble?" Peter glared at Neal.

"Technically no." Neal said. "Matt already knew how to play poker, I just helped him increase his knowledge."

"First rule." Peter said, still glaring at the younger man. "No gambling." Then he looked at the three kids. "I don't mind you playing cards, even poker. But no gambling. You are too young. And no more cons at all."

"Look Peter." Tiffany said. "We can't promise you that, we don't know what's going to happen to us. We don't know where we'll end up."

"I do." Peter said, as him and El held hands and both faced the kids. "El and me talked and we both agree, we want to adopt you three."

"What?" Tiffany asked, her eyes wide with surprise. "You do?"

"Yes we do." El confirmed. "We both love you very much and can not picture life around here without you in it."

"We can be real pains in neck." Chris said, smiling happily. "Especially me."

"We know." Peter said.

"You really want to be our parents?" Matt asked, a huge smile on his face.

"Yes." Peter said. "If you'll have us."

"We'll have to think about it." Chris said.

"No we don't." Tiffany said, throwing her arms around El.

"Sure don't." Matt agreed, throwing his arms around Peter's waist.

"I know." Chris smiled. Peter held out an arm, and Chris also hugged him.

Neal watched the scene with a smile, the Burke family just got bigger.

"Nothing is official right now." Peter said, after they stopped hugging. "But we are going to social services right now and see what we need to do to make this happen."

/

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Six hours later, they were still at the social services office. Tiffany was sitting on a hard bench, Matt was laying on the bench with his head on the teen's lap. Chris was standing by a large window, looking out.

"What's taking so long?" Chris asked.

"Stuff like this takes time." Tiffany said.

"This much time?" Matt asked.

"I don't know." The teenager admitted.

"What if they say no?" Chris asked.

"Then Peter and El will ask someone else." Tiffany said. "They won't take no for an answer."

"There they are." Chris said, as she saw Peter and El walking over to them, an older woman in her late fifties was with them, all three adults were smiling.

Tiffany and Matt stood up and all three kids walked over to them.

"Well?" The teen asked, hopefully.

"We were granted temporary custody of you." Peter said.

"Yes." Matt exclaimed, hugging Peter's waist. Peter leaned forward and returned the hug.

"Why only temporary?" Chris asked.

"It's how things work." El said. "We were given temporary custody, and in six months it will be decided if the adoption will be finalized. This is Mildred Baker, she's a social worker here. And is now out case agent."

"Hello." The woman smiled.

"What's a case agent?' Matt asked.

"It is my job to decide weather or not the Burke household is the right place for you three." The woman said.

"It is." Matt said.

"Yeah." Chris agreed. "Peter needs someone to help turn the rest of his hair gray."

"That's Caffrey's job." Peter said.

"If you're convinced that the Burke's home is the right place for us after the six months." Tiffany said. "Then they are our parents for ever?"

"Yes."

Peter and El thanked the older woman and said their goodbyes, then took their children home. The car ride was filled with comfortable laughter and chatter. Once back at the house, they all went inside.

"Surprise!" Several voices shouted as they entered the house. Neal, Jones, Diana, Hughes, June, Mozzie, and Samantha were there.

"I guess Neal told everyone." Peter smiled.

"Yes." June said. "Neal told us the wonderful news, congratulations."

"Thank you, June." El smiled. "Kids, this is June and her granddaughter Samantha."

"It is a pleasure to meet you." June said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Ma'am." Tiffany said.

The next couple hours were filled with laughter and happiness, and then everyone started filtering out. Mozzie was the last to leave, much to Peter and El's surprise.

"Suit, Mrs. Suit." He said, as they walked him out. The kids had just gone upstairs to get ready for bed. "I think it is very decent of you to offer them a home, a lot of kids in the foster care system never get that opportunity. I know you will provide them with security and moral standards, but most importantly, you will provide them with love and a place to belong."

"Thank you Mozzie." El said.

"Yeah." Peter agreed. "Every child deserves a home."

"True." Mozzie said. "But many don't get one. Good night." Then he left.

Peter and El watched him walk away, and then they turned and went back inside. The kids were walking down the stairs.

"Matt, you get the room you slept in when you spent the night here."

"Cool."

"Chris, you get the room that you and Tiffany slept in. Tiffany, you get our home office. we're going to revert it back into a bedroom."

"You don't have to do that." The teen said. "I don't want you to give up your office."

"Nonsense." El said. "We never use it anyway, it is your bedroom. It has its own bathroom."

"If you are anything like El, you will need your own bathroom." Peter said, earning him a playful slap on his arm from his wife.

"It'll take a couple days to get ready, you'll have to stay in Chris' room until then."

"You three can decorate your rooms any way you want to." El said. "They are yours."

"Head on to bed." Peter said, it's been a long day."

"Night Peter, night El." Matt said, giving each a hug.

The two girls also hugged them goodnight, then they went upstairs.

"We have three kids." Peter said, after they left. "Do we know anything about raising kids?"

"No." El said, then smiled. "But that's okay, we'll learn. And we always have your parents to ask advise, they did a pretty good job with you."

"I need to call them tomorrow, let them know that they are grandparents."

"I need to call my brother."

"Come on, Mom." Peter said with a smile. "Let's go to bed."

"Good idea, Dad."

Husband and wife walked up the stairs, holding hands.

/

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THE END 

I don't know anything about adoptions, so I probably got it wrong on how it works. But oh well, it is fan FICTION. This is the end of this story, but I plan on posting more in this series.

Please let me know what you think, I love feedback.


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